Breaking down report Trump admin said birth control pills, IUDs cause abortions

Rae Deng
Fri, September 19, 2025

SNOPES


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In mid-September 2025, a claim spread online that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration had said birth control pills and IUDs were abortions.

The rumor spread on X, Instagram and Reddit.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOrUTI6kTxP/

The allegation came from a statement that the U.S. Agency for International Development — the humanitarian aid agency being dismantled by the Trump administration — reportedly provided to The New York Times about the government's plan to destroy nearly $10 million in contraceptives meant for women in low-income countries. While the origin of the statement indicated the claim was likely legitimate, the White House directed inquires about the purported comment to the State Department, which did not return repeated requests to confirm the Times' reporting. As such, we have not rated this claim.

Here's what the Trump administration said, according to the Times' Sept. 11 story (emphasis ours):

On Thursday, a spokeswoman for U.S.A.I.D. — which is now being wound down by Russell Vought, the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget — said in a statement to The Times that the contraceptives had been destroyed, and falsely suggested that they induced abortion.

"President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world," the statement said. "The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid."

Snopes reached out to the lead reporter on the Times story to ask for help verifying the statement and will update the story if they respond.

According to the Times, USAID first bought the birth control pills, IUDs and hormonal implants as part of its humanitarian aid efforts.

To be clear, calling birth control an "abortifacient," or a product which induces an abortion, does not align with medical definitions of an abortion or the process of pregnancy — although some who oppose abortion have argued otherwise. As we previously reported:

Many anti-abortion activists believe that conception occurs at the moment the sperm fertilizes the egg, before implantation. Anything that might expel an embryo in the days after fertilization, is, in their eyes, abortifacient. According to experts, however, abortion occurs after implantation because a person is only considered pregnant after implantation.

As our reporting stated, one reason some abortion opponents believe the birth control pill is an abortifacient is because it causes the uterus' lining to thin — but so do smoking, cancer treatment, breastfeeding and vigorous exercise, to name a few other factors.

Sources:

Deng, Rae. "What to Know about Trump, Musk and the Dismantling of USAID." Snopes, Snopes.com, 5 Feb. 2025, www.snopes.com/news/2025/02/05/trump-elon-musk-dismantling-usaid/.

Nolen, Stephanie, et al. "$10 Million in Contraceptives Have Been Destroyed on Orders from Trump Officials." The New York Times, 11 Sept. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/health/usaid-contraceptives-destroyed-trump.html.

Rascouët-Paz, Anna. "Birth Control Pill Causes Abortions?" Snopes, Snopes.com, 5 Apr. 2024, www.snopes.com/news/2024/04/05/birth-control-pill-abortions/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.





No, Birth Control Isn’t Abortion—Plus 16 Other Contraception Myths to Drop

Erica Sloan, Korin Miller
Fri, September 19, 2025 



Jose Luis Stephens/Adobe Stock

Myths about birth control have long proliferated in the US (thanks in part to the abysmal state of sex ed), but recent events have amplified their spread—namely, the rise of influencers sharing misleading information about the pill on social media and the passage of legislation threatening access to various kinds of contraception.

These misconceptions can have far-reaching repercussions, for instance putting people at risk for unintended pregnancy or keeping them from the non-pregnancy-related upsides of hormonal contraception, like relief from heavy periods and gut-wrenching menstrual cramps. So we asked ob-gyns to debunk all the biggest birth control myths they’ve heard as of late.

1. Myth: Birth control is a form of abortion.

For years, politicians have conflated contraception with abortion, most recently a spokesperson for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), who referred to hormonal contraceptives as “abortifacient birth control” in a statement to The New York Times. The reality is, no form of birth control—not even the emergency kind—is designed to end an existing pregnancy; rather, these products keep a pregnancy from getting started.

The two main ways they work are: preventing ovulation (the release of an egg from an ovary), in the case of hormonal contraceptives, and blocking sperm from reaching an egg, either by thickening the cervical mucus (hormonal options) or interfering with sperm motility and function (copper IUDs). All of that prevents a pregnancy from ever being able to get underway, Sameena Rahman, MD, a Chicago-based board-certified gynecologist and menopause specialist, tells SELF.

Where the myth arises may have to do with what happens next. In the extremely rare scenario that a sperm somehow still wriggles its way to an egg and fertilizes it, that fertilized egg may not ultimately implant into the uterus, as both hormonal contraceptives and copper IUDs can cause changes in the uterine lining. But even this doesn’t constitute a negative effect on an existing pregnancy, Dr. Rahman points out, because pregnancy doesn’t start until after implantation occurs, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). The label on Plan B, a popular brand of emergency contraception, used to suggest it could similarly interfere with implantation, but in 2022, the FDA updated it to clarify that it has no such effect—and only prevents pregnancy by delaying ovulation.

By contrast to all of the above, medication abortion shrinks the uterine lining, causing an already-implanted embryo to detach, and then triggers uterine contractions to push it out.

2. Myth: Using any form of birth control protects you from STIs.

The only kinds of birth control that protect against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections are condoms (both the external kind worn on a penis and the internal pouch you insert into a vagina). As barrier methods, they cut down on the two possible vectors of STI transmission: sexual fluids and skin-to-skin contact

And even condoms can’t fully eliminate skin-to-skin contact so when you use them, you’re still at risk of getting certain STIs, such as herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes most cervical cancer. This is why getting tested regularly so you know your STI status is a huge part of staying as safe as possible.

3. Myth: You can have a little sex then throw on a condom before any ejaculation happens, and you won’t get pregnant.

Slipping on a condom just before the person with the penis finishes means their partner gets exposed to pre-ejaculatory fluid (a.k.a. pre-cum), Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF. There’s controversy surrounding whether or not pre-cum always contains sperm, but it’s a possibility, Dr. Streicher says, so you could raise your chances of pregnancy. Not to mention, you won’t be protecting yourself as well as you could against STIs.

4. Myth: If you haven’t had children, you’re not a good candidate for an IUD.

“It was previously thought that if your cervix hadn’t dilated during a pregnancy, we couldn’t get an IUD through the cervical canal,” Dr. Rahman says, “but we’ve since learned that we absolutely can.” It’s the reason ACOG even recommends IUDs for teenagers, most of whom, of course, haven’t given birth.

It is possible that it may be more painful to get an IUD inserted if you haven’t had a child—but there’s no reason it would work any less well to prevent pregnancy. And if the pain worries you, it’s worth chatting with your doctor about the options available for managing it.

5. Myth: Once you get an IUD inserted, you have to leave it in for years.

Different types of IUDs are recommended for anywhere between three and 10 years. But technically, you could get one removed the day after it was inserted, if you wanted, Dr. Rahman says, or at any point at which you decide it’s no longer for you.

The reason some doctors might push you to keep it in for at least a few months is just to make the most of the hoops you jumped through to get it. As noted, insertion can be painful, and it may not have been cheap, either. Plus, many of the initial side effects, like cramping and erratic bleeding, tend to settle in a few weeks, once your body gets used to this new foreign object and potentially the hormones, Dr. Rahman says. So it may be worth trying to ride out these symptoms versus jumping to removal.

6. Myth: Birth control pills will make you gain weight.

There’s no solid scientific confirmation that either combined hormonal birth control pills (containing estrogen and progestin) or the minipill (progestin-only) causes weight gain. A 2014 review of 49 studies on weight and contraception didn’t find any evidence that combined hormonal contraceptives have a meaningful effect on weight in either direction. And a similar 2016 review of 22 studies just focused on progestin-only forms of birth control found essentially the same thing. That said, if you start a new combination pill, you might feel like you’re gaining because of bloating (the estrogen could make you retain more water than usual).

The only form of birth control that has been explicitly linked with weight gain is Depo-Provera (an injection of progestin you get every three months), as noted in its prescribing info. That likely has more to do with progestin’s appetite-increasing effect than anything else, as the shot packs a higher dose of it than other progestin-containing forms of birth control.

7. Myth: The vaginal ring can get lost inside of your body.

“Your vagina is just a tunnel with an end,” Grace Lau, MD, a board-certified gynecologist at NYU Langone Health, tells SELF. So there’s no chance that a NuvaRing—a hormonal contraceptive in the form of a vaginal ring—can get lost in there.

Typically, you’ll leave the ring inserted for three weeks every month. If you can’t find it when you go to remove it, it might just be stuck high up by your cervix. To get it out of there, take a warm shower and then gently insert your index finger into your vagina and sweep it around until you can feel it. If you’re coming up empty, know that there’s a chance it fell out without you realizing it. But if you really suspect it’s lodged up in there where you can’t grasp it, pay a visit to your ob-gyn. (And in the meantime, consider using an alternative method of contraception.)

8. Myth: The implant can move around your body.

Much like with the NuvaRing, it’s easy to wonder if a Nexplanon arm implant (a progestin-containing device) might take a trip to another spot in your body. But once you have Nexplanon inserted, it’s good for three years—and it should stay put for every minute of them.

While it’s possible for the implant to move slightly in your arm, in the vast majority of cases, it’s not going to budge enough to affect your protection. “Think of your skin like a web of interconnecting strands of collagen and elastin. These fibers trap an implant in place, preventing it from moving in the skin,” Joshua Zeichner, MD, a New York City–based board-certified dermatologist and director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells SELF.

9. Myth: Fertility-awareness-based methods are just as effective as birth control pills at preventing pregnancy.

The term fertility-awareness-based method is really a catch-all for a few different tactics of tracking your ovulation. The idea is that during your most fertile times (typically thought to be a few days before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and one day post-ovulation), you should either completely avoid intercourse or use a barrier method to prevent pregnancy.

The problem is, it’s hard to know exactly when you’re ovulating, Dr. Streicher says. The general rule is that ovulation happens on day 14 of a 28-day menstrual cycle, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be true for you every time. And even if you pay attention to possible signals of ovulation, like changes in your basal body temperature, you might not calculate exactly when you’re ovulating properly.

Also, sperm can live inside you for up to five days after having sex. So if you have unprotected sex because you think you’re not ovulating and then you do ovulate anywhere up to five days later, you could, in theory, get pregnant.

10. Myth: You can put the birth control patch anywhere on your body.

You’re actually supposed to place the patch (which is sold under the name Xulane) on your upper outer arm, butt, stomach, or back. There, it releases estrogen and progestin into your skin.

You should replace the patch every week for three weeks and also do daily checks to make sure it’s in place. It’s sticky enough that you can wear it in the pool and shower, Dr. Streicher says. If it does fall off, reapply it if it’s still sticky; if not, pop on a new one (and use a backup form of contraception if the old one was off of your body for more than 24 hours).

11. Myth: It’s unhealthy to use birth control to skip your period.

You can manipulate many forms of combined hormonal contraception, like the combined pill, the patch, and the ring, to skip your period if you want to. The “period” you get on these combined methods is really just a withdrawal bleed that lets you know that you’re not pregnant, Dr. Streicher says. “You don’t ever need to get a period on birth control.”

In order to avoid getting your period while using combined birth control pills, you would generally skip the placebo pills and move right into the next pack. Same thing for NuvaRing and Xulane—you’d bypass the ring-free or patch-free weeks. When it comes to NuvaRing, you can either put in a new one or keep your old one in for a fourth week. With Xulane, you’d need to put on a new patch for that fourth week, because using a patch for over a week can increase your risk of unintended pregnancy.

As you can tell, skipping your period with birth control takes some precise calculation, which is why you shouldn’t just decide to do it on your own. These are off-label uses for these methods, meaning you should talk to your doctor about whether it’s okay for you to use birth control to delay or bypass your period before you try it.

12. Myth: Taking hormonal birth control can mess up your fertility down the road.

After quitting most methods of birth control, you’ll return to normal fertility within a few menstrual cycles or sooner. The only real exception is the Depo-Provera shot, which has been shown to delay ovulation for 10 months or more in some people.

If you notice you’re having a hard time getting pregnant when you come off birth control, it could simply be that you were on contraception for a long enough time for your fertility to have declined naturally, Dr. Rahman notes. Or your contraception may have been masking an underlying problem that you only discover once you go off of it, Dr. Lau says, like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Either way, talking to your doctor after coming off birth control can help you maximize your chances of conceiving.

13. Myth: Your body needs to take a break from hormonal birth control sometimes.

There’s no scientific proof that this is the case, Dr. Streicher says. If you want to go off your birth control to see what your body is like without the added hormones, that’s fine. Just use a backup method of birth control if you don’t want to get pregnant, she says.

14. Myth: You don’t need birth control if you’re breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding typically causes lactational amenorrhea: It suppresses ovulation and menstruation by disrupting the typical hormonal flow of your cycle.

But it’s important to know that this is not a very secure method of birth control. For maximum efficacy, you’d need to go no longer than four hours without breastfeeding in the day and no longer than six at night. You’d also need to exclusively breastfeed, so no supplementing with formula. Another thing: You’re going to start ovulating again at some point, and it’s hard to know when that might be, Dr. Streicher says.

That’s why ACOG recommends people only use this as a temporary form of birth control for six months maximum or until menstruation starts again, whichever occurs first. And even that’s not foolproof. Let’s say those six months aren’t up yet and you haven’t gotten your period, but you ovulate without realizing it. If you have unprotected sex, you could theoretically get pregnant before your period returns.

If you don’t want to get pregnant again quickly and you don’t use any kind of birth control while you’re breastfeeding, you’re kind of rolling the dice, Dr. Streicher says. (Just avoid birth control pills that contain estrogen during the first four to six weeks after childbirth, as there’s a small chance the hormone could affect your milk supply.)

15. Myth: You definitely can’t get pregnant if your partner has a vasectomy.

Yes, it’s very rare that a vasectomy fails, but it is possible, Dr. Streicher says. This procedure involves cutting and sealing the tubes that carry sperm—but all the sperm that’s already been created doesn’t just suddenly vanish into thin air. It typically takes several months (and ejaculating upwards of 15 times) to get all the sperm out of a person’s system after a vasectomy. “You have to have a semen analysis that shows that there are zero sperm left to know if you’re protected,” Dr. Streicher says.

16. Myth: Female sterilization means getting a hysterectomy.

A hysterectomy, which involves removal of the uterus and possibly other reproductive organs, is not typically plan A for the sole purpose of sterilization—it’s a pretty invasive procedure usually done for medical reasons, like treating fibroids or endometriosis (though it also would prevent you from being able to physically carry a pregnancy).

Instead, sterilization typically means getting your tubes tied (a.k.a. tubal ligation). This is where a doctor blocks your fallopian tubes to permanently prevent eggs from being able to travel through them, encounter sperm, and enter the uterus. Alternatively, you might get a salpingectomy, or a removal of your tubes, for the same reason; but in either case, the procedure is less invasive and has a shorter recovery time than a hysterectomy.

Also worth noting: Both tube-related procedures won’t affect your hormones or bring on menopause, whereas a hysterectomy could, if it involves removing your ovaries.

17. Myth: You have to stop taking birth control pills when you hit perimenopause.

For most healthy women, there’s no reason to give up the pill until age 55, Dr. Rahman points out. Perimenopause can actually be an especially wise time to be on it because so long as you’re having a period, even irregularly, you may be able to get pregnant.

Not to mention the potential benefits of birth control pills for perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats—they can temper the hormonal fluctuations of this period, much in the way of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The main difference between the two is that birth control pills are made up of synthetic hormones and at a higher dose, whereas HRT is a lower quantity of body-identical ones, Dr. Rahman explains. It’s recommended to switch over to the latter once you hit menopause (a year without a period) or age 55, since it may carry fewer risks at this stage. But it does not work as an effective form of contraception, hence why it might be easier to just stay on the pill through perimenopause.
If you have any questions about these or other birth control myths, talk to your doctor.

A good doctor will be dedicated to helping you achieve your reproductive goals, whether that’s avoiding ever getting pregnant, putting it off until you’re ready, or helping you get pregnant in the near future. When it comes to your ob-gyn, there really are no stupid questions.

China's Soybean Snub Shocks Markets Ahead of Trump Trade Showdown

FORGET TIKTOK

Khac Phu Nguyen
Fri, September 19, 2025 
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

China's soybean strategy has re-emerged as a pressure point in its trade relationship with the US. For the first time since at least 1999, Beijing has held back from purchasing any American soybeans at the start of the export season, according to USDA data. This move echoes the tactics seen during the first trade war under President Donald Trump, when agriculture was deployed as leverage. Last year, US soybeans accounted for more than $12 billion of China's imports, representing a significant share of American farmers' export earnings. The absence of fresh Chinese demand this September has left growers facing a glut of supply and prices near multi-year lows.

Analysts suggest this could be part of a well-planned strategy. China's crushers and feed producers, who rely heavily on soymeal and soyoil, have already secured ample stocks from Brazil, in some cases doubling inventories. This gives Beijing breathing room to avoid US purchases until at least early 2026. The approach aligns with its broader effort to diversify away from American commodities, with imports of corn, wheat, and sorghum also reduced. At the same time, Beijing has increased pressure on US firms by launching an antitrust probe into Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), while making small conciliatory gestures such as resuming US oil imports and shelving an investigation into Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android. Market watchers note that soybean futures in Chicago have been volatile, reflecting the uncertainty over whether Beijing could step back into the market.

For the Trump administration, the pressure from America's farm belt is intensifying. Growers, a politically critical bloc, have warned that tariffs could push them toward a financial precipice, urging Washington to secure concessions from Beijing. Trump has publicly called for China to ramp up orders, with agriculture expected to dominate the trade agenda in the weeks ahead. While near-term breakthroughs may be unlikely, the prospect of a larger face-to-face negotiation later this year leaves investors watching closely. Any eventual deal could reshape the trajectory of soybean flows, but for now, the market is adjusting to a reality where China is willing to pay premiums elsewhere to keep the US on edge.

RESISTANCE IS FERTILE

Washington's immigrant neighborhoods push back against ICE arrests with protests, recordings

Ted Hesson and Suheir Sheikh
Fri, September 19, 2025 
REUTERS

Hispanic community on alert due to ICE agent detentions in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When U.S. immigration agents swooped down to arrest a Salvadoran man in Mount Pleasant, a Washington area known for its Hispanic immigrant population, residents alerted neighbors who flocked to the scene, chanting at officers to get out before the man was hauled away.

And when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained a Guatemalan man on Monday walking with a crutch who said he had no criminal record in nearby Petworth, another area with a sizable Hispanic population, people heading to work and walking dogs stopped to shout at them. After a back-and-forth with protesters, officers released the man.

Such arrests, like the two witnessed by Reuters, are becoming increasingly common in the nation's capital, according to immigration advocates and residents, who say the raids are fomenting distrust among some residents.

Mount Pleasant has been home for decades to immigrants from El Salvador and other Central American countries who run restaurants and other businesses even as the area has gentrified. Riots broke out there in 1991 after a D.C. police officer shot a Salvadoran man. Nearby Petworth, a leafy residential neighborhood, also has a large Hispanic population.

NEIGHBORS ON ALERT

President Donald Trump kicked off an aggressive immigration enforcement campaign when he took office in January, backed by his Republican base. But as Trump increased arrests - including many people without criminal records - support for his immigration policies has faded, Reuters/Ipsos polls show.

Trump declared a “crime emergency” in Washington in August. Although the order did not specifically mention immigration, ICE and other federal agents have been a regular presence in parts of the city with the biggest Latino populations. After federalizing Washington’s police force for 30 days in August, Trump said on Monday that he would seek to do it again if the city did not cooperate on immigration enforcement.

The Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, made up of community organizations and volunteers, said it has seen more immigration enforcement than ever before, driven by widespread racial profiling.

“Anybody that happens to look Black or brown or look like they could be immigrants are being stopped,” said Amy Fischer, an organizer with the group.

The Supreme Court this month lifted a lower court order that halted immigration arrests based solely on race, ethnicity, location or other factors in the Los Angeles area, allowing ICE and Border Patrol to resume their aggressive tactics.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Trump's anti-crime push targeted all offenders, regardless of immigration status, and that allegations of racial profiling aimed to "smear law enforcement officers."

“Many of the illegal aliens arrested as part of targeted enforcement operations have outstanding warrants or prior convictions for terrible crimes like murder, assault, rape, and sexually assaulting children," Jackson said.

In Washington's Mount Pleasant neighborhood on August 28, dozens of residents protested as ICE officers took the man into custody. A young woman that U.S. authorities identified as his daughter sobbed at the scene.

As in other parts of the U.S., some Mount Pleasant residents use chat groups to alert neighbors to the presence of ICE or other federal agents.

“I've lived here for 10 years, and I've never felt so unsafe,” said Kris King, a yoga instructor. “The stress level is really high.”

The Department of Homeland Security said the man was in the U.S. illegally and encouraged others in the same situation “to self-deport now.”

Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement: “No one living legally in the U.S. has anything to fear."

She said the Guatemalan man in Petworth had been detained during a traffic stop which involved Washington police as well as ICE agents, and confirmed that the man was released.

VIBRANT AREAS GONE QUIET

In Columbia Heights, a neighborhood known for eateries with traditional Salvadoran corn “pupusas” and street vendors selling fresh juice and horchata, a cold rice drink, neighbors have banded together against the immigration arrests - even when the operations involve other branches of law enforcement.

When U.S. Marshals Service, local police and ICE agents swarmed an apartment building in search of a missing 13-year-old girl one morning last week, a crowd quickly gathered, filming with phones and sharing information.

Yessica Gonzalez, 24, stood outside texting with her mother, who lacks legal immigration status and was cloistered inside her apartment until the agents left.

“She's very scared,” said Gonzalez, who works as a manager in a fast-food restaurant.

McLaughlin said agents rescued a missing girl from a house with "multiple associates" of the Salvadoran-American criminal gang MS-13. ICE arrested a 17-year-old alleged MS-13 gang associate and another man from El Salvador, she said.

When agents left the scene, bystanders shouted “Gestapo” after them. A short time later, neighbors helped walk a small boy wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt and backpack to school.

Nelvin Rodriguez, a 54-year-old contractor who lives nearby, said local restaurants and other businesses frequented by Spanish-speaking immigrants have suffered as people stayed home because they were afraid of ICE.

“They would rather stay at home and not go to work or not go shopping,” said Rodriguez, who came to the U.S. from Honduras 20 years ago and is a permanent resident. “We don’t feel safe, for the simple reason that we’re Latino.”

(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Suheir Sheikh; Additional reporting by Liza Feria; Editing by Mary Milliken and Suzanne Goldenberg)

Newsom just approved a sweeping climate overhaul package. Here's what it does

Jeanne Kuang, Cayla Mihalovich
Fri, September 19, 2025 

San Francisco Chronicle


Gov. Gavin Newsom announces his approval of a sweeping climate overhaul package Friday in San Francisco. (Lea Suzuki/S.F. Chronicle)

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a sweeping package of climate and energy policies to extend the cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions program, increase oil drilling and allow the state to create a Western regional electricity market.

The overhaul that Newsom and top lawmakers negotiated in the final days of the legislative session amid heavy lobbying last week reflects urgency in the Democratic Party to preserve its climate goals while reining in the surging gas and energy costs that have threatened to drive voters to the right.

Lawmakers opened the session this year declaring a focus on making California more affordable, after a bruising national election for Democrats. The energy package was central to that goal, with progressives proposing to lower costs with industry regulations.

But after two years declaring special sessions targeting the oil and gas industry, Newsom began to warm up to them as oil refineries announced closures that could send gas prices spiking. As a result, one of the bills he signed Friday would boost domestic oil production in Kern County by approving a long-delayed environmental impact report for new wells.

"We have to effectively transition," Newsom said at an event in San Francisco. "This is not an ideological endeavor. We're in the practical application business. We've got to manifest our ideals and our goals. So this lays it out. But it lays it out without laying tracks over folks."

A bill signed by the governor Friday would boost domestic oil production in Kern County by approving a long-delayed environmental impact report for new wells. (Alex Horvath/Tribune News Service)

The biggest part of the complex package he signed were bills to extend the state's cap and trade program, which since 2013 has put a price tag on carbon emissions. The program caps the amount of greenhouse gases that polluting industries can emit and to a limited extent allows companies that cut emissions to sell permits to other companies that pollute. The program raises money for many of the state's climate programs.

The extension leaves the program largely the same, which disappointed environmental justice advocates who argued it has allowed oil and gas to continue polluting near low-income communities. In a nod to those concerns, Newsom also signed another bill in the package that creates a state fund to monitor pollution mitigation in disadvantaged communities.

He also signed two bills affecting the electricity grid. One would allow the state to create a Western regional energy market, allowing the state to trade more electricity with neighbors.

Proponents, including mainstream environmental groups, say the idea would lower prices by allowing California producers to sell excess clean energy during times the state doesn't need it - when it's sunny but not hot, for example, while importing power during heat waves and other high-demand times.

The other bill seeks to lower the cost of transmission infrastructure for customers by setting up a public financing system for building new power lines. It would also prevent some utilities' wildfire mitigation costs from being passed on to customers and replenish the state's wildfire fund by $18 billion. The money, paid by shareholders and ratepayers over the next decade, is used to pay wildfire victims.

The package Newsom signed leaves one imminent concern unaddressed: upcoming refinery closures. Negotiations late in the legislative session to keep two Bay Area refineries open have so far failed to produce any deals.

Assembly Member Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, wanted the state to support the Benicia Valero refinery, which is now set to close by the end of the year without a deal. (Andri Tambunan/For the S.F. Chronicle)More

Some Democrats simply didn't want to give more to the oil industry, while others disagreed on how much support the state should provide, Assembly Member Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, told CalMatters last week. Wilson had been pushing for the state to support the Benicia Valero refinery now set to close by the end of the year without a deal, costing the city its largest private employer.

Jeanne Kuang and Cayla Mihalovich write for CalMatters, where this article first appeared. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom extends signature program aimed at curbing carbon emissions

SOPHIE AUSTIN
Fri, September 19, 2025 


California Gov. Gavin Newsom hosts a press conference and signs a slew of climate initiative bills at the Academy of Sciences, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in San Francisco.

 (AP Photo/Camille Cohen)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday extended a signature state program aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions through 2045, a move Democrats cheered but Republicans warned would raise gas prices.

The program known as cap and trade sets a declining limit on total greenhouse gas emissions in the state from major polluters. Companies must reduce their emissions, buy allowances from the state or other businesses, or fund projects aimed at offsetting their pollution. Money the state receives from the sales funds climate-change mitigation, affordable housing and transportation projects, as well as utility bill credits for Californians.

It was set to expire after 2030. The law Newsom signed Friday at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco potentially boosts carbon-removal projects and requires the program to align with California's target of achieving so-called carbon neutrality by 2045. That means the state will remove as many carbon emissions as it releases. The law changes the name to “cap and invest” to emphasize that the money goes toward other programs.

“We’re doubling down on our best tool to combat Trump’s assaults on clean air — Cap-and-Invest — by making polluters pay for projects that support our most impacted communities,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Newsom also signed a law committing $1 billion in program revenue for the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, $800 million for an affordable housing program, $250 million for community air protection programs and $1 billion for the Legislature to decide on annually.

He approved other measures aimed at advancing the state’s energy transition and lowering costs for Californians. They include laws to speed up permitting for oil production in Kern County, refill a fund that covers the cost of wildfire damage when utility equipment sparks a blaze and allow the state’s grid operator to partner with a regional group to manage power markets in western states.

Newsom also signed a bill that would increase requirements for air monitoring in areas overburdened by pollution and codify a bureau within the Justice Department created in 2018 to protect communities from environmental injustices.

California has some of the highest utility and gas prices in the country. Officials face increased pressure to stabilize the cost and supply of fuel amid the planned closures of two oil refineries that make up roughly 18% of the state’s refining capacity, according to energy regulators.

Environmental justice advocates said the cap-and-trade extension doesn't go far enough to address air pollution affecting low-income Californians and communities of color more likely to live near major polluters. The program's “cap” applies to planet-warming emissions, not other pollutants impacting air quality. Cap and trade doesn't set emissions limits for individual facilities, meaning an industrial polluter could continue to emit the same amount of greenhouse gases over time so long as it has the right amount of credits or offsets.

Other critics of the cap-and-trade extension are worried about it raising costs. The program has increased gas costs by about 26 cents per gallon, according to a February report from the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, a group of experts that analyzes the program. It has played “a very small role” in increasing electricity prices because the state’s grid isn’t very carbon intensive, the report says.

“I said it in June and I’ll say it again: legislative Democrats live in ‘Bizarro World,’" Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland said in a statement. “Their idea of tackling affordability is extending the Cap-and-Trade program, a hidden tax that drives up costs on everything from gas to groceries. That’s not climate leadership. I call it economic sabotage.”

But Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, who wrote the reauthorization bill, said it will help the state fight climate change because “the cost of inaction is immeasurable.” She referenced the devastating wildfire that ripped through Pacific Palisades in her district in January.

Daniel Barad, the western states acting co-director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said last week that the extension comes at a key time.

"The most important thing is it extends it to 2045, which was the most critical thing that the state could have done, especially in the face of federal rollbacks and attacks on California's authority to enforce our lifesaving regulations,” he said.

Gov. Newsom signs bills aimed at lowering electricity costs, stabilizing gas supply

Iman Palm
Fri, September 19, 2025

KTLA

Gov. Newsom signs bills aimed at lowering electricity costs, stabilizing gas supply

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a legislation package that aims to boost oil drilling, lower electricity costs for Californians, and extend California’s cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions program.

The most significant element of the package extends California’s cap-and-trade program, which has set a cost on carbon pollution since 2013. The system limits the amount of greenhouse gas that industries can release. Revenue generated supports a variety of state climate initiatives.

The program, which has remained largely unchanged, has drawn criticism from environmental advocates who argue that it allows oil and gas operations to continue polluting near low-income neighborhoods, according to CalMatters.

To address those concerns, Newsom also approved a measure establishing a state fund to track pollution-reduction efforts in disadvantaged communities.

California’s power grid is the focus of two other bills. One authorizes the creation of a Western regional energy market, allowing California to trade electricity more easily with neighboring states.

The other bill establishes a public financing system for new transmission lines, aiming to reduce infrastructure costs for customers. It also shields ratepayers from some utility wildfire expenses and injects $18 billion into the state’s wildfire fund, which compensates victims.

The fund will be replenished over the next decade through contributions from both shareholders and ratepayers.

The legislation package, which came together towards the end of the legislative session, aims to address affordability in the Golden State.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Gavin Newsom signs sweeping energy affordability package

Camille von Kaenel, Alex Nieves and Noah Baustin
Fri, September 19, 2025 




SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of bills on Friday to boost oil drilling, rescue wildfire-threatened utilities and extend the state's landmark climate program as he attempts to rein in energy costs while meeting the state’s ambitious climate targets.

Taken broadly, the package represents a compromise between increasing fossil fuel extraction — which has been on the decline in the nation's eighth-largest oil-producing state — and continuing to ratchet down greenhouse gas emissions.

“We've got to manifest our ideals and our goals, and so this lays it out, but it lays it out without laying tracks over folks," Newsom said, against a backdrop of towering redwood trees projected on the screen of a planetarium in a San Francisco science museum. “We set the tone and pace for the rest of the nation.”

State Democrats opened their legislative session in January with a promise to focus on affordability, which gained even more political urgency as wildfires and refinery closures raised the threat of higher electricity and gasoline costs. The final package of legislation came together only last week, in a last-minute agreement capping weeks of talks between state lawmakers and Newsom’s office.

And it reflects bipartisan support in California's overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature, which needed no Republican votes to pass the package. Two of the bills — the creation of a West-wide energy market and the increase in drilling in Kern County, the state's main oil patch, garnered Republican votes.

“I want to thank the governor for being willing to listen and to understand the situation that we have before us, and his courage to act immediately to stabilize fuel prices for all Californians,” Republican Sen. Shannon Grove, who represents Kern County, said on the Senate floor last week.

The oil drilling package also ratchets up oversight on offshore drilling, a nod to the priorities of soon-to-be Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón and Central California lawmakers fighting to slow down a Texas-based company that’s moving to quickly restart a Santa Barbara pipeline that spilled in 2015.

Newsom himself only came out in support of extending the state’s cap-and-invest program, which wasn’t scheduled to expire until 2030, after President Donald Trump threatened to dismantle state climate laws in April. The renewal of the carbon market gives him a climate win at a time when the state is losing other core pieces of its climate strategy, like its mandated phase-out of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

The package also includes a spending plan for roughly $4 billion in annual cap-and-invest revenues — known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. That plan includes $1 billion in guaranteed yearly funding for high-speed rail, a significant win for a controversial project that saw the Trump administration cancel $4 billion in federal grants earlier this year.

The utilities' wildfire fund will now benefit from an $18 billion boost, funded by utility company shareholders and ratepayers. The new energy legislation also changes how investor-owned utilities finance transmission and wildfire prevention projects, which lawmakers and Newsom are arguing will shave up to several dollars off monthly electric bills.

Newsom claimed the most energy savings would come from the law that paves the way for California to more closely link with its neighboring states in a West-wide energy market.

A separate law will also strengthen air quality monitoring in communities disproportionately impacted by pollution.

A who’s who of California’s energy leaders attended the signing, including legislative leadership, top regulators and high-profile advocates. Newsom’s allies cast the signing as a repudiation of the Trump administration’s attacks on clean energy.

CLIMATE CRISIS CORRUPTION

Thousands protest in the Philippines over massive corruption scandal

“With the amount of money allocated for these projects, there should be no more floods, but there are still floods!”

JIM GOMEZ
Sat, September 20, 2025 

AP


Protesters carry signs as they gather during a rally against government corruption at the EDSA People Power Monument in suburban Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines, Sunday. Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Protesters shout slogans during an anti-corruption rally at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Protesters carry signs as they march during a rally against government corruption at the EDSA People Power Monument in suburban Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines, Sunday. Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Protesters gathers during an anti-corruption rally in Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Protesters gather during an anti-corruption rally at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Philippine capital on Sunday to express their outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and businesspeople who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the poverty-stricken and storm-prone Southeast Asian country.

Police forces and troops were put on alert to prevent any outbreak of violence. Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organizers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years.

The United States and Australian embassies issued travel advisories asking their citizens to stay away from the protests as a safety precaution


A group of protesters waved Philippine flags and displayed a banner that read: “No more, too much, jail them,” as they marched in the Manila protest and demanded the immediate prosecution of all those involved in the scandal.

“I feel bad that we wallow in poverty and we lose our homes, our lives and our future while they rake in a big fortune from our taxes that pay for their luxury cars, foreign trips and bigger corporate transactions,” student activist Althea Trinidad told The Associated Press in Manila, where she joined a noisy crowd that police estimated at around 8,000 people by midday. “We want to shift to a system where people will no longer be abused.”

Trinidad lives in Bulacan, a flood-prone province north of Manila where officials said the most flood-control projects were being investigated either as substandard or nonexistent.

“Our purpose is not to destabilize but to strengthen our democracy,” Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said in a statement. He called on the public to demonstrate peacefully and demand accountability.

Organizers said protesters would focus on denouncing corrupt public works officials, legislators and owners of construction companies, along with a system that allows large-scale corruption, but they would not call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to step down.

Marcos first highlighted the flood-control corruption scandal in July in his annual state of the nation speech.

He later established an independent commission to investigate what he said were anomalies in many of the 9,855 flood-control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9.5 billion) that were supposed to have been undertaken since he took office in mid-2022. He called the scale of corruption “horrible” and has accepted his public works secretary's resignation.

Public outrage erupted when a wealthy couple who ran several construction companies that won lucrative flood-control project contracts showed dozens of European and American luxury cars and SUVs they owned during media interviews. The fleet included a British luxury car costing 42 million pesos ($737,000) that they said they bought because it came with a free umbrella.

Under intense public criticism, the couple, Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, later identified during a televised Senate inquiry at least 17 House of Representatives legislators and public works officials who allegedly forced them to pay huge kickbacks so they could secure flood-control projects in an explosive testimony.

Two prominent senators were later implicated in the scandal by a former government engineer in a separate House inquiry. All those named denied wrongdoing but they face multiple investigations.

Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez separately stepped down in a widening fallout from the scandal, as both chambers of Congress face intensifying criticism after several legislators were implicated in the corruption allegations.

At least three government engineers were dismissed and 15 others were being investigated prior to dismissal. All face criminal complaints and their bank accounts, houses, cars and other assets will be frozen, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said.

___

Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report.

Thousands join protest against corruption in the Philippines

DPA
Sun, September 21, 2025 

Protestors clash with the police during a protest against corruption in Manila. Jose Monsieur Santos/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Thousands of Filipinos took to the streets across the Philippines on Sunday to express outrage over alleged corruption in bogus and sub-standard government flood-control projects worth billions of dollars.

In Manila, the protests were held in Luneta Park and the EDSA People Power Monument, which commemorates a mass uprising that ousted incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's late father, who was deposed in 1986 due to massive corruption and human rights abuses.

The demonstrations in Manila – attended by an estimated 130,000 people, according to organizers – were the largest held so far in the Philippines over the scandal since Marcos Jr ordered an investigation into the anomalous projects in July.

Some of the protesters in Luneta Park, estimated at 80,000, marched towards the Malacañang Presidential Palace but were stopped by police, who blocked the way with a long truck.

A group of young rallyists who were wearing masks began throwing rocks at the rows of police and set fire to the truck's tyres shouting, “For the nation!”

Several people, including police, some protesters and reporters were injured in the confrontation. At least 12 demonstrators, many of them masked, were arrested, according to police.

“Many are angry, and I am here with family and friends to show that we are among those who are mad at thieves,” said Raymond Mendros, who was with family and friends at the rally in Luneta Park.

“It’s really frustrating,” he added. “With the amount of money allocated for these projects, there should be no more floods, but there are still floods!”

Protesters hold flags during a protest against corruption in Manila. Jose Monsieur Santos/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Protesters clash with Manila police during anti-corruption rally

Reuters Videos
Updated Sun, September 21, 2025 

STORY: ::Protesters clash with police during an anti-corruption rally in the Philippine capital

::September 21, 2025

::Manila, Philippines

::Thousands had gathered to protest, which also marked the 1972 anniversary of martial law being declared
::Teddy Casino, Chairperson, New Patriotic Alliance

"The people are very angry because they have been victims of flooding for all these years. And flooding has made their lives so difficult. And yet the discovery that all the billions of pesos that were supposed to help them, that was supposed to solve the problem have ended up lining the pockets of all these corrupt politicians, government officials and contractors."
::Mong Palatino, Secretary General, New Patriotic Alliance

"We are here to remind our people that during the anniversary of martial law: martial law was not just about authoritarian rule. Martial law enabled the plunder of our nation's wealth. Unfortunately, authoritarianism and plunder continue to plague our country. So we are here to demand action from the government. We are here to demand accountability against corrupt officials in the government."

The day began with thousands of people gathered at a public park chanting slogans against corruption.

Allegations of mismanagement of the government's flood control projects have been in the spotlight in recent months during the country's monsoon season, which has inundated towns and cities despite spending over $9.54 billion (545 billion pesos) on flood control since 2022.

Protesters had planned to demonstrate in front of the presidential palace, but were barred by the police, which resulted in a violent outburst. A loud sound reminiscent of a flash bang was heard in the direction of the police, who later marched to arrest several protesters on the scene.

The demonstration coincides with the 1972 anniversary of the declaration of martial law by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father of current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which was marked by widespread human rights abuses during his two-decade rule.

Youths and police square off near presidential palace in Manila as corruption protests continue

Associated Press Videos
Updated Sun, September 21, 2025 


Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organizers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years.


Violence erupts at anti-corruption protests in the Philippines

DPA
Sun, September 21, 2025

Protestors clash with the police during a demonstration against corruption in Manila. Ryan Eduard Benaid/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Takeaways

Thousands took to the streets across the Philippines on Sunday to express outrage over alleged corruption in bogus and sub-standard government flood-control projects worth billions of dollars, with violence erupting in the capital, Manila.

The protests there were held in Luneta Park and the EDSA People Power Monument, which commemorates a mass uprising that ousted incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's late father, who was deposed in 1986 due to massive corruption and human rights abuses.

The demonstrations in Manila – attended by an estimated 130,000 people according to organizers – were the largest held so far in the Philippines over the scandal since Marcos Jr ordered an investigation into the anomalous projects in July.

Violence broke out when some of the estimated 80,000 protesters from Luneta Park marched towards Mendiola Street outside the Malacañang Presidential Palace to join another group of demonstrators, but were stopped by police, who blocked the way with a long truck.

A group of young rallyists who were wearing black t-shirts and head covers began throwing rocks at the rows of police and set fire to the truck's tyres shouting, "For the nation!"

Police later used water cannons and tear gas when the same group stormed the police barricade at Mendiola, throwing rocks, bottles and umbrellas, and setting off a Molotov cocktail, even after organizers called for the protesters' dispersal.

Several people, including police, some protesters and reporters were injured in the confrontation. At least 17 demonstrators, mostly wearing black t-shirts and head covers, were arrested, according to police.

Renato Reyes, president of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), one of the organizers of the protests, was among those injured.

"Stones were being thrown and I got hit in the face," he said in a statement. "The people who stayed in Mendiola were angry, years of pent-up anger. We don't know who the groups were. They're not affiliated with Bayan. But we could sense their anger," he said.

"They could be provocateurs, or they could just be really angry at what is happening," he added. "At the end of this day, the government cannot ignore the problem of corruption and give so-so responses."

"Many are angry, and I am here with family and friends to show that we are among those who are mad at thieves," said Raymond Mendros, who was with family and friends at the rally in Luneta Park


"It's really frustrating," he added. "With the amount of money allocated for these projects, there should be no more floods, but there are still floods!"


Congressional investigations have unearthed various anomalies in over 500 billion pesos ($9 billion) worth of flood control projects, including ghost projects and low-quality work in many areas that are now suffering from floods.

Some whistleblowers in the investigation, however, implicated some legislators in the anomalies, alleging that they received kickbacks from project contractors.

The protesters carried placards and banners, reading "Stop ghosting," "Corruption kills," "Where is my money?," "Taxes not for Thieves!" and "We wade through floods, you waste our money!"

Ian Red Dela Cruz, a member of an alliance of organizations working for the rights of persons with disabilities, said their group showed up to demand accountability from those who stole public funds.

"We want those billions of pesos of flood-control funds to be returned back to the public," the 26-year-old disability advocate said. "To the government, we want action now, not in six months. We want it now."

Sunday also marked the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.

Protesters noted that while Marcos Jr supported the protests against the anomalous projects, his family should still be held accountable for the corruption and human rights abuses during his father's 21-year rule.

"They still need to pay for what they stole," Mendros said. "They are not in the clear just because President Marcos Jr is supporting the demonstrations against the corruption in the flood-control projects. They are also corrupt."

Protestors clash with the police during a demonstration against corruption in Manila. Ryan Eduard Benaid/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Thousands take to streets as Philippines protests flood control fraud

AFP
Sat, September 20, 2025 


Protesters take part in a rally as they demonstrate against phony flood control projects, one of the country's biggest corruption scandals in decades, in Manila on September 21, 2025. (TED ALJIBE)TED ALJIBE/AFP/AFPMore

Thousands of Filipinos gathered Sunday in Manila to express their anger over a ballooning scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

Rage over the so-called ghost infrastructure projects has been mounting in the Southeast Asian country since President Ferdinand Marcos put them centre stage in a July state of the nation address that followed weeks of deadly flooding.

On Monday, Marcos said he did not blame people for protesting "one bit" while calling for demonstrations to remain peaceful. The army has been placed on "red alert" as a precaution.

"There were times I personally waded through floods," Aly Villahermosa, a 23-year-old nursing student from Metro Manila told AFP as an estimated crowd of 13,000 gathered Sunday morning in the capital's Luneta Park.

"If there's a budget for ghost projects, then why is there no budget for the health sector?" she said, calling the theft of public funds "truly shameful".

Teddy Casino, 56, chairman of left-wing alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the group was demanding not only the return of stolen funds but prison time for those involved.

"Corruption requires people to go to the streets and express their outrage in the hope of pressuring government to actually do their jobs," he said.

Even bigger crowds are expected to gather later in the day to march down the thoroughfare known as EDSA, site of the People Power Movement protests that helped oust Marcos's dictator father from power in 1986.

The flood control scandal has already sparked leadership changes in both houses of Congress, with House speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, tendering his resignation earlier this week as an investigation got underway.

Earlier this month, the owners of a construction firm accused nearly 30 House members and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials of taking cash payments.

The Department of Finance has estimated that the Philippine economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos ($2 billion) from 2023 to 2025 due to corruption in flood control projects. Greenpeace has suggested the number is actually closer to $18 billion.

The Philippines has a long history of scandals involving public funds, in which high-ranking politicians found guilty of corruption have typically escaped serious jail time.

On a recent visit to Bulacan, a flood-plagued province north of Manila where multiple bogus projects have been identified, AFP reporters saw residents trudging through murky water in rubber boots.

Elizabeth Abanilla, an 81-year-old retiree, said politicians and contractors were equally guilty.

"They should not have handed (money) over before the job is completed," she said. "Both of them are guilty."

SPACE/COSMOS

French military leader warns of increased 'hostile' activity in space

Cassell Bryan-Low and Tim Hepher
Fri, September 19, 2025 
REUTERS

Western military space officials at a conference hosted by Novaspace in Paris


By Cassell Bryan-Low and Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) - France’s top military space official has warned of intensifying "hostile or unfriendly" activity in space, particularly by Russia, joining a growing chorus of Western powers publicly warning about a rapidly growing security threat.

There has been a significant spike in hostile activity since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Major General Vincent Chusseau told Reuters.

In his first interview with international media since taking the helm of French Space Command last month, he said adversaries, especially Russia, have diversified methods of disrupting satellites, with activity such as jamming, lasers and cyberattacks having become commonplace.

UKRAINE CONFLICT HIGHLIGHTS SPACE RISKS

The Ukraine conflict shows "space is now a fully-fledged operational domain," Chusseau said.

France, Europe’s largest government spender in space, publicly accused Moscow in 2018 of attempting to spy on its secret communications by sneaking up on a Franco-Italian military satellite with a prowling spacecraft a year earlier, but has not detailed suspect manoeuvres since then.

The Russian defence ministry and Russian space agency Roscosmos did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The Kremlin says Western powers have unfurled a massive hybrid war against Russia, including propaganda, cyberattacks and intelligence operations. Moscow says it opposes any weapons in space and has denied assertions by the United States that Russia has launched weapons into Earth's orbit that are capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites.

China, the world’s second-largest government spender on space behind America, is rapidly developing its space capabilities.

"Each day shows dizzying progress – launching ever more satellites for new constellations, developing modes of action that go beyond what we had seen before," Chusseau said.


WESTERN NATIONS WARN OF THREATS TO SATELLITES


The United States, Canada and the UK are among other Western countries publicly warning about increased threats to satellites, which are essential for militaries and economies, from banking to energy management.

"This economic and military dependence on space is increasingly being held at risk," the head of UK Space Command Major General Paul Tedman said in a speech last week in London. The threat is growing "in scale, in sophistication, and in speed".

Canada's military space chief, speaking alongside Chusseau at a conference in Paris on Tuesday, said there are now more than 200 anti-satellite weapons in orbit.

"That is a shocking number,” said Canada's Brigadier General Christopher Horner. He added that those pose a risk to everything from satellite communications to Earth observation to space-domain awareness, or the ability to monitor what is happening in space.

Western countries are responding by bolstering their own space-based capabilities.

GERMANY IS ENHANCING SPACE DEFENCES

The German government is “absolutely determined to quickly enhance our capabilities and defend our national systems,” Major General Michael Traut, head of German Space Command, told the conference hosted by French consulting firm Novaspace.

He said the German military is designing space defences including a multi-orbit satellite constellation to be built in stages with the first one completed in 2029.

Chusseau said one of France’s priorities is increasing resilience of space assets including in the rapidly-evolving area of low-orbit constellations, driven by dramatic growth in Elon Musk’s Starlink network. France recently announced plans to increase its stake in Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat, whose OneWeb low-Earth orbit network competes with Musk’s Starlink.

Although France and its allies rarely openly discuss offensive capabilities, Chusseau told the conference another of his priorities is to accelerate the ability to carry out "a wide spectrum of effects in space...not only to see and understand, but also to act.”

France has announced a series of demonstrator satellites to help patrol in orbit and monitor adversaries. The aim is also to acquire surface-to-space capabilities “to deny, prohibit and disrupt” adversaries, French Space Command told Reuters.

(Reporting by Cassell Bryan-Low, Tim Hepher; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

Behind closed doors, a majority of CEOs admit they won’t boost U.S. investment as tariffs hurt their businesses

Jason Ma
Fri, September 19, 2025 
Fortune 

Uncertainty is proving to be a major obstacle to President Donald Trump’s plans to revive the industrial sector as CEOs balk at making U.S. investments, according to a recent survey.

During a closed-door gathering Wednesday of top executives that was organized by the Yale School of Management, attendees were asked if they planned to invest more in U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure—and 62% said no.

Yale management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld told the Wall Street Journal that tariffs, immigration crackdown and economic worries have eroded their confidence about making new investments.

“They’re holding back doing anything,” he said.

Other findings from the poll showed that 71% believe tariffs have been harmful to their businesses, and about three-fourths agree with courts that have ruled Trump’s global tariffs are illegal.

To be sure, the Trump administration has secured pledges from top companies like Apple and Nvidia to invest in U.S. production. Earlier this week, pharmaceutical companies vowed to pour money into the U.S. as well.

The White House is also looking at ways to leverage $550 billion pledged by Japan in its trade deal with the U.S. to boost the construction of factories and other infrastructure, according to the Journal.

“The Administration is working closely with business leaders to restore America as the most dynamic economy in the world, and trillions in historic investment commitments reflect how the Administration is implementing an aggressive pro-growth agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “These policies ushered in historic job, wage, economic, and investment growth in President Trump’s first term — and they’re set to repeat the success in President Trump’s second term.”

In a separate quarterly survey from the Business Roundtable released on Thursday, 38% of CEOs expect their companies to increase capital spending over the next six months, up from 28% in the second quarter. The share who see a decrease in capex dipped to 11% from 13%.

But Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten suggested that view isn’t representative of manufacturers. And the capex subindex remains below where it was in the fourth quarter of 2024 as well as the first quarter of 2025.

“Though we are pleased to see some recovery in CEO plans for capex, there’s fragmentation among the various sectors, with trade-exposed industries like manufacturing facing headwinds,” he said in a statement accompanying the survey. “The President has secured some significant concessions in trade negotiations, and we urge our trading partners and the Administration to continue working together to remove harmful tariffs and non-tariff barriers.”

Among other results from Yale’s CEO poll, 80% said Trump’s pressure on the Federal Reserve wasn’t in the best long-term interests of the U.S., and 71% said Trump has weakened the Fed’s independence.

That’s as Trump has installed Stephen Miran as a Fed governor, who has taken the unprecedented step in not resigning from his post as White House economic adviser. Meanwhile, Trump continues to press his other unprecedented move to fire Lisa Cook from the Fed.

Discussion at the closed-door CEO gathering also focused heavily on “state capitalism,” according to the Journal, given the Trump administration’s deals with chipmakers to share revenue on exports to China, its “golden share” in U.S. Steel, its holdings of Intel stock, and its stake in mineral producer MP Materials, among some recent examples.

“The government should not choose winners or losers in sectors,” Snap-on CEO Nick Pinchuk told the Journal.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Trump is already wielding his ‘golden share’ authority at U.S. Steel, overriding the company’s plans for an Illinois plant, report says

Nino Paoli
Sat, September 20, 2025 




President Donald Trump used this power to halt a planned plant shutdown in Granite City, Ill., The Wall Street Journal first reported.

Just when U.S. Steel thought the ink had dried on its new future with Japan’s Nippon Steel, the company ran into a political reality check: President Donald Trump’s administration and its new “golden share” authority.

The golden share—essentially a veto power over certain corporate moves—was a condition for White House approval of Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel in June. The president used this power to halt a planned plant shutdown in Granite City, Ill., The Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday.

Two weeks ago, U.S. Steel notified the Granite City plant and its 800 workers that operations would cease in November. The company planned to pay the employees, despite closing steel production.

But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick learned of the plan and called U.S. Steel Chief Executive Dave Burritt, telling the exec he wouldn’t allow operations to cease, sources told the Journal. Lutnick added that Trump would use his golden share authority.

Lutnick described U.S. Steel’s plan to pay employees despite the plant not operating as “nonsense,” in a recent CNBC interview.

Within days, the steelmaker reversed course, telling the Journal “Our goal was to maintain flexibility, and we are pleased to have found a solution to continue to slab consumption at Granite City.”

The White House, Commerce Department, and U.S. Steel did not immediately respond to Fortune for comment.

Union leaders opposed Nippon Steel’s acquisition, warning that the company would close domestic plants and instead import foreign-made steel from other locations. But Trump’s corporate intervention prevented this.

A national security agreement between the government and Nippon Steel gives Trump authority over a suite of changes, from factory closures and relocations to salary modifications and big-ticket operational shifts.

It marked another development in the government’s control over private industrial decisions.

Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the administration 15% of their sales from chips sold to China. Other examples include Trump’s $8.9 billion stock deal with Intel, making the federal government the chipmaker’s top shareholder, and a deal with MP Materials that makes Defense Department the principal shareholder in America’s leading rare earth miner.


Some analysts warn that investors may now have to factor in political risk ranging from regulatory intervention to executive overrides.


But the golden share concept isn’t completely new. Governments in the U.K., Brazil, and China have long used similar arrangements to retain influence in privatized sectors, such as defense, aviation, and infrastructure.

But the U.S. move is notable for the sheer scope: while the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States previously imposed security conditions on mergers, Trump’s agreement goes further, granting presidential oversight of broad operational decisions.

The Granite City intervention may serve as a temporary reprieve to employees and the local economy.

“We need a future,” Craig McKey, president of United Steelworkers Local 1899 at Granite City, told The Wall Street Journal. “Whatever they give us, we’re willing to do the work.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Pakistan says its nuclear program can be made available to Saudi Arabia under defense pact

IN VIOLATION OF NON PROLIFERATION TREATY PAKISTAN IS A SIGNATORY TO

JON GAMBRELL and MUNIR AHMED
Fri, September 19, 2025 a


In this photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second right, Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, left, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, second left, and Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, pose for photographs after signing a mutual defense pact, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (Press Information Department via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS

This handout photograph released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency shows Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, left, embracing Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after signing a joint defense pact in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS


DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pakistan’s defense minister says his nation’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed under the countries’ new defense pact, marking the first specific acknowledgment that Islamabad had put the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella.

Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif’s comments underline the importance of the pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades.

The move is seen by analysts as a signal to Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed nation. It comes after Israel’s attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar last week killed six people and sparked new concerns among Gulf Arab nations about their safety as the Israel-Hamas war devastated the Gaza Strip and set the region on edge.

Minister's remarks touch on the nuclear program

Speaking to Geo TV in an interview late Thursday night, Asif made the comments while answering a question on whether “the deterrence that Pakistan gets from nuclear weapons” will be made available to Saudi Arabia.

“Let me make one point clear about Pakistan’s nuclear capability: that capability was established long ago when we conducted tests. Since then, we have forces trained for the battlefield," Asif said.

“What we have, and the capabilities we possess, will be made available to (Saudi Arabia) according to this agreement,” he added.

The two countries signed a defense deal Wednesday declaring that an attack on one nation would be an attack on both

The International Atomic Energy Agency, with which both nations have monitoring agreements, did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the Pakistani defense minister's remarks. Asif criticized Israel in the interview for not fully disclosing its suspected nuclear weapons program to the IAEA.

The pact comes after Israel's attack on Qatar

Israel has not commented on the two nations' defense pact. Pakistan long has criticized Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, but has not been directly involved in any war against it. And while neither nation has diplomatic ties to Israel, American officials had sought to mediate a diplomatic recognition deal involving Saudi Arabia before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war.

“We have not named any country whose attack would automatically trigger a retaliatory response. Neither has Saudi Arabia named any country, nor have we," Asif said in the interview. "This is an umbrella arrangement offered to one another by both sides: if there is aggression against either party — from any side — it will be jointly defended, and the aggression will be met with a response.”

The deal came a week after the attack in Doha as Gulf Arab countries weigh how to defend themselves. Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, have stretched across Iran, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria and Yemen.

Asked if others could join the pact, the minister added: “I can say the door is not closed to others.”

That idea was repeated by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.

“It is premature to say anything, but after this development, other countries have also expressed a desire for similar arrangements,” Dar told reporters in London in televised remarks. “Such things follow due process. Even with Saudi Arabia, it took several months to finalize.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have longstanding ties

Saudi Arabia has long been linked to Pakistan's nuclear program. Retired Pakistani Brig. Gen. Feroz Hassan Khan has said Saudi Arabia provided “generous financial support to Pakistan that enabled the nuclear program to continue, especially when the country was under sanctions.” Pakistan faced U.S. sanctions for years over its pursuit of the bomb, and saw new ones imposed over its ballistic missile work at the end of the Biden administration.

Pakistan developed its nuclear weapons program to counter India’s atomic bombs. The two neighbors have fought multiple wars against each other, and again came close to open warfare after an attack on tourists in April in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India is believed to have an estimated 172 nuclear warheads, while Pakistan has 170, according to the U.S.-published Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

Pakistan's Shaheen 3 ballistic missile, believed to be able to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, has a maximum range of 2,750 kilometers (1,700 miles) — making it capable of reaching Israel.


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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. ___

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

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Colin Kaepernick Shows True Character After Black College Student Found Dead On Campus

Story by Chris Rosvoglou

Fri, September 19, 2025 
THE SPUN

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick showed his true character this week with his response to the death of Delta State University student Demartravion “Trey” Reed.

On Monday morning, Delta State University Police found Reed’s body hanging from a tree near pickleball courts. The Bolivar County Deputy Coroner’s Office ruled out foul play after their initial examination.

“Based on the preliminary examination, we can confirm that the deceased did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with an assault,” the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office said. “At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death.”

A few days later, the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office determined from their autopsy that Reed died by suicide.

ABC News Studios hosts a screening event of Killing County" from Executive Producer Colin Kaepernick in Burbank, California on February, 9, 2023.
(Phil McCarten/ABC via Getty Images)

Kaepernick stepping up for the Reed family.

On Friday, it was revealed that an independent autopsy will be performed. Kaepernick will cover the this expense for the Reed family.

"Trey’s death evoked the collective memory of a community that has suffered a historic wound over many, many years and many, many deaths. Peace will come only by getting to the truth. We thank Colin Kaepernick for supporting this grieving family and the cause of justice and truth," civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump said.

This autopsy will be funded by Kaepernick's "Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative."

As you'd imagine, sports fans are applauding Kaepernick for this classy gesture. He continues to prove that he can make a huge impact away from the gridiron.

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Sep 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section.