Budget watchdog sounds alarm about Ottawa’s ‘unsustainable’ fiscal path

THAT'S HIS JOB!

By The Canadian Press
Updated: September 25, 2025

Jason Jacques, interim parliamentary budget officer, appears at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — OTTAWA — Stupefying," “shocking” and “unsustainable” -- those were just some of the words Ottawa’s fiscal watchdog used Thursday to describe his scathing forecast for federal finances ahead of a long-anticipated fall budget.

Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques published an updated economic and fiscal outlook on Thursday where he projected the federal deficit would balloon to $68.5 billion this year, up from an estimated $51.7 billion last year.

He also expects the federal debt-to-GDP ratio -- previously a major fiscal anchor for Ottawa -- will no longer decline in the coming years.

Jacques told a parliamentary committee Thursday afternoon it is the first time in 30 years he has seen a projection where that key metric rises over time.

Based on public statements from federal officials, spending plans announced over recent months and a weakening economy in the U.S. trade war, he said the path for federal finances appears broadly “unsustainable.”

“I think everybody should be concerned,” Jacques told MPs on the government operations and estimates committee.

“We’re hoping, and certainly expecting, the government as part of Budget 2025 to clearly indicate what the government plans to do to address ΓǪ this problem, because it’s certainly not sustainable.”

The PBO is a non-partisan officer of parliament. The office’s updated fiscal and economic outlook offers parliamentarians a baseline estimate of the state of federal finances heading into the Liberals’ fall budget on Nov. 4.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Thursday defended the pace of spending in the upcoming budget as necessary to pivot the economy through a “once-in-a-generation” disruption tied to the United States’ global tariff campaign.

“The parliamentary budget officer can have his own view,” he said after the Liberal cabinet meeting.

“My role is to ensure the long-term fiscal stability of Canada and make sure the investments are there to support the Canadian economy for generations to come.”

Champagne pointed to fiscal anchors in the Liberal election platform this past spring -- among them, a declining deficit-to-GDP ratio and balancing the operational spending budget in three years -- as benchmarks of prudent fiscal management in the upcoming budget.

A fiscal anchor is a guiding principle that governments can point to in their budgets to show they’re prudently managing public finances, particularly debt.

The previous Liberal government under former prime minister Justin Trudeau set an anchor of capping the annual deficit at one per cent of GDP and maintaining a declining debt-to-GDP ratio.

The PBO report forecasts that Ottawa will blow past those anchors in the upcoming budget.

The outlook does show that, after projecting an expansion in the deficit-to-GDP ratio to -2.2 per cent this year from -1.7 per cent last year, Canada’s deficit as a share of GDP is expected to shrink in the years to come.


The PBO expects deficits to decline slightly but to remain close to $60 billion annually over the forecast horizon. The Liberals projected a deficit of $42.2 billion for this fiscal year in its most recent update last December.

The watchdog’s update does not include plans to incrementally ramp up defence spending to meet the updated NATO benchmark of five per cent of GDP by 2035. It also doesn’t factor in Ottawa’s announced plans to reduce public service spending over the next three years.

Kristina Grinshpoon, the PBO’s director of fiscal analysis, told the committee that she believes there’s about $20 billion of proposed spending included in the Liberals’ spring election platform that’s not included in the office’s updated outlook.

But the report does account for some $115.1 billion in net new spending over five years announced by the government since the last fiscal update in December of last year.

Higher government spending is coming as the PBO expects tax revenues to take a hit from weaker economic growth this year and next.

Champagne on Thursday blamed the higher deficit on the global trade disruption.

“With everything that’s happened in the world, when you look at the deficit of Canada, a large part of that is in response to what has happened,” he said.

Jacques largely rebuffed questions at committee about whether he thought the government’s spending plans were warranted given the scale of the economic disruption, saying it wasn’t in his mandate to comment on policy objectives.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has described the Liberals’ approach to the budget as one of spending less to invest more. He has promised to ramp up infrastructure spending and attract investment to boost productivity in Canada.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Carney of breaking his promise to “spend less” during question period Thursday. He called Carney a more expensive prime minister than his predecessor, Trudeau.

“We know that every single dollar this prime minister spends comes out of the pockets of hard-working Canadians,” Poilievre said.

“Why don’t they know that?”

Jacques was named parliamentary budget officer on a six-month interim basis earlier this month, before the House of Commons began its fall sitting.

A permanent appointment must be approved by the House, and the Conservative party has pushed to keep Jacques in the role.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

 Military Divers Claimed They Found a UFO Crash Site—But They Spent Decades Sworn to Secrecy

Emma Frederickson
Thu, September 25, 2025 

POP MECH


Are These Two UFO Crashes Secretly Linked? Getty Images

On the evening of October 4, 1967, a group of teens near Canada’s Shag Harbour noticed strange orange lights in the sky plummeting toward the Atlantic ocean, hovering just above the water’s surface. They reported the incident to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, thinking it a devastating plane crash. When the Coast Guard arrived at the scene, the only evidence of the unidentified anomalous phenomenon was yellow foam in the water. Some witnesses thought the lights sinking into the sea caused the strange material to appear.

The next day, divers investigated the scene without any proof of aliens—or even a pedestrian plane crash, for that matter—which would make it seem like the case was cold. But when Chris Styles, a longtime ufologist, began poking around 33 years later, eyewitnesses kept asking him the same question: “You know about Shelburne, don’t you?”


For most ufologists, the prospect of another anomalous incident would be like an early Christmas present. But for Styles, it was more of a headache. He explained in an interview on the podcast UFO Live Shows that he didn’t want Shag Harbour to become another Roswell, the infamously confusing incident in the United States, which sparked a conspiracy theory among UFO proponents that recovered materials found in Roswell, New Mexico—including foil and rubber debris—were from an extraterrestrial spacecraft.

Upon further investigation, Styles realized the “Shelburne” incident referred to a 1960s NATO minesweeping exercise off the coast of McNabs Island, a small island in Nova Scotia, Canada. According to Styles, the U.S. ships had travelled ahead along the Shelburne harbor coast, laying an eight-mile-long path of dummy mines for the exercise. The minesweepers would then come in and clear the entire course—at least that’s what was supposed to happen. Witnesses of the minesweeping mission said everything was going as planned for about an hour—that is, until “all hell broke loose” and divers were deployed into the water, Styles recalls in the podcast.

“There was no doubt what we were dealing with off of Shelburne,” Styles writes in his 2023 book, Sweep Clear 5: NATO’s UFO Encounter, quoting three Royal Canadian divers. “There were UFOs sitting on the seabed. They were occupied and there was still activity. One was trying to help the other, which was damaged.”

Following yet more research, Styles says in the interview that he came across records indicating the ships initiated DEFCON 1—the highest level of readiness for war—about 90 minutes into the mission. And it wasn’t surprising the witnesses mistook details of the exercise, like how long before things went wrong, or used ambiguous language when describing what they’d seen. According to the divers, they’d been sworn to secrecy for more than three decades.

“They ordered us to the surface and ordered us to forget what we’d seen,” the divers say in Sweep Clear 5. “Then the alarms sounded upon the command ship and panic broke out.”

As he continued his interviews, Styles began prying for more information from witnesses. He recounts on the podcast that one Air Force veteran in particular claimed to have listened to the divers talking each night. Styles says the airman remembered hearing his shipmates discuss two flying saucers lying on the ocean floor beneath the ship. That same veteran said talk continued until the end of the mission, when a U.S. Navy officer suggested the divers should stop talking about the “Soviet submarine” they were investigating, implying the vessels the men had seen weren’t extraterrestrial.

In the podcast interview, Styles claimed his editors pushed him to link his findings about what went down at Shelburne with the Shag Harbour incident. After all, in his other book, Dark Object: The World’s Only Government-Documented UFO Crash, he and co-author Don Leger hypothesize that the UFO which allegedly crashed at Shag Harbour travelled 25 miles away underwater, where it was met by another extraterrestrial ship, perhaps to rescue it. If Shelburne and Shag Harbour were connected, it would wrap the whole story up in a pretty red bow.

It wasn’t until nearly three decades into his research that Styles discovered the true year the NATO minesweeping mission occurred: 1960. Chronologically, this sets Shelburne seven years before Shag Harbour—even for an alien tale, it was impossible. The objects witnessed at the two locations couldn’t be the same.

Even though the two events proved to be unrelated—and despite the Shelburne witnesses being hesitant to share real details—Styles says in the podcast that he believed the veracity of the men’s accounts. He claims that many of the Navy veterans teared up in interviews, often asking to change the subject when their emotions became too intense. The researcher emphasized the historical context of the time, stating that Betty and Barney Hill had yet to make their famous alien abduction claims, and that space travel was still merely a science fiction dream.


Despite Styles’ extensive research, the sighting at Shelburne remains overshadowed by the Shag Harbour incident. Now, the small town of Shag Harbour is a tourist destination for alien enthusiasts. More than 50 years later, both cases remain unsolved aside from Styles’ explanation. But some experts say the possibility of unidentified submerged objects (USOs) having alien origins isn’t totally improbable—could this mean the UFOs at Shag Harbour and Shelburne really did get away?


A New Study Reveals the 10 Biggest UFO Hotspots in the U.S.

The research highlights where Americans most often report unexplained aerial phenomena.

Lindsey Puls
Creator of Have Clothes, Will Travel•
Sun, August 17, 2025




UFO sightings have always had a way of capturing our imagination. Some people see them as proof we’re not alone, others brush them off as military tests or tricks of the light. Either way, the fascination never really goes away.

To find out where Americans are most likely to spot something strange in the skies, the gaming platform 1000 Mines analyzed decades of UFO reports and patterns across the country. Their research highlights the places that consistently generate the most sightings, whether that’s mysterious lights hovering over small towns, unexplained objects darting across big-city skylines, or desert highways where legends seem to write themselves.

These are the top 10 UFO hotspots in the U.S., ranked by how often people claim to see the unexplained.

10. Chicago, Illinois (O’Hare Airport)

In 2006, United Airlines employees and pilots reported seeing a saucer-shaped object hovering over O’Hare’s Gate C17. Witnesses said it punched through the clouds at incredible speed, leaving a gaping hole in the overcast sky. The FAA brushed it off as “weather,” but when seasoned pilots insist it wasn’t? Hard to ignore.

9. Los Angeles, California

LA has a long history with UFOs, dating back to the infamous “Battle of Los Angeles” in 1942, when anti-aircraft guns fired on a mystery object over the city. Modern sightings continue, often clustered along the coast. Some theorize underwater UFO bases in the Pacific. Far-fetched? Maybe. But Navy pilots have reported “Tic Tac” shaped crafts off Southern California, so who knows.

8. Gulf Breeze, Florida

This quiet beach town made national headlines in the late ’80s when local contractor Ed Walters shared photos of bizarre flying objects. Hoax or not, the UFO buzz hasn’t completely died down. Locals still report strange lights over the Gulf, keeping Gulf Breeze on the UFO map.

7. Mount Shasta, California

Mystics and UFO enthusiasts alike flock to Mount Shasta. Some say it hides underground alien civilizations, others believe it’s a portal to another dimension. Hikers have reported missing time and unexplained lights on the mountain for decades, fueling its eerie reputation.

6. Kecksburg, Pennsylvania

In 1965, something fiery crashed in the woods near this small town. Witnesses described a strange, acorn-shaped object before the military swooped in and whisked it away. The official explanation? Nothing happened. Locals weren’t buying it, and today Kecksburg hosts its own UFO festival to keep the mystery alive.

5. Stephenville, Texas

In 2008, dozens of residents reported seeing enormous, silent aircraft, some as wide as a football field, flying in formation over town. The incident made national news and was never explained. Sightings haven’t stopped completely, and its proximity to Air Force bases keeps speculation swirling.

4. Roswell, New Mexico

It’s impossible to make a UFO list without Roswell. The 1947 crash (or “weather balloon,” if you believe the official story) helped launch America’s modern alien obsession. Today, Roswell embraces its reputation with museums, shops, and a thriving UFO tourism scene.




3. Area 51 / Rachel, Nevada

The secrecy surrounding Area 51 has made it ground zero for UFO lore. Just down the road lies Rachel, NV, a tiny desert town along the “Extraterrestrial Highway.” Whether it’s top-secret military tech or something cosmic, the mix of conspiracy theories and strange sightings keeps this spot legendary.

2. Pine Bush, New York

Dubbed the “UFO capital of the East Coast,” Pine Bush has been buzzing with activity since the 1980s. Witnesses regularly describe glowing orbs and triangular crafts. Some blame nearby military bases, others point to odd geological features. Either way, the town leans into its identity with an annual UFO fair.

1. Sedona, Arizona

Topping the list is Sedona, a stunning red rock town famous for its vortex energy fields and star-filled desert skies. UFO sightings are so common here that tours specifically for skywatchers are a booming business. Whether you chalk it up to high elevation, clear conditions, or cosmic energy, Sedona has become the ultimate UFO hotspot in America.

Whether you think these sightings are evidence of extraterrestrials, secret military projects, or just a trick of the imagination, there’s no denying UFO lore is a big part of American culture. 

And if quirky destinations are your thing, you might also enjoy reading about some of the strangest tourist attractions across all 50 U.S. states or checking out these 12 unbelievably strange islands that are hard to believe are real.

Yahoo CreatorLindsey PulsCreator of Have Clothes, Will TravelLindsey writes about travel, style, and quirky internet trends—sharing shopping tips, product reviews, and offbeat guides on Yahoo, MSN, the AP Wire, and her blog Have Clothes, Will Travel.

Have Clothes, Will Travel

Vallée: UFO disclosure could trigger complex religious, security questions


by: George Knapp
Posted: Apr 25, 2025 /

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A highly respected UFO investigator warns that disclosing the truth, linked to documented human injuries and national security concerns, requires a carefully crafted strategy to avoid chaos.

Jacques Vallée has been a central figure in UFO research and debate for over six decades, often finding himself at odds with UFO orthodoxy. Vallée was among the first to argue that the unknown craft, seen for centuries in our skies and oceans, may not be from other planets, but instead from other realities.

Vallée has heard the demands for an end to official secrecy many times and, at the same time, has participated in secretive efforts himself, including a UFO study launched by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2008, which was hidden inside a Las Vegas aerospace company.

One focus of the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) was genuinely disturbing: the real-life health consequences for humans who come into contact with UFOs. Hundreds of serious injuries have been documented. AAWSAP investigators traveled to Brazil to obtain government files related to hundreds of Brazilians treated for injuries after being targeted by UFOs. While Vallée won’t discuss specific AAWSAP files, except for cases he provided to the database, he said those cases of UFO-related injuries were not accidental.

One focus of the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) was genuinely disturbing: the real-life health consequences for humans who come into contact with UFOs.

“I can tell you that in my files… some of which I contributed to the database of, there are at least half a dozen well-documented cases where the injuries that resulted in death were deliberate,” Vallée said.

Incidents in which UFOs deliberately cause physical harm to humans are rare, according to personnel who have seen the full AAWSAP files, but they do occur. Dr. Colm Kelleher, one of the AAWSAP managers, has said, bluntly, that UFOs are bad for human health.

Could that be a reason to keep secrets?

In his most recent book, “Forbidden Science 6: Scattered Castles,” Vallée shares private exchanges with colleagues from the AAWSAP program, including Robert Bigelow, a Las Vegas billionaire. Additionally, there are conversations between and a close-knit group of scientists known as the Lonestars. The scientists, some of them former CIA contractors, accept that the U.S. government has recovered crashed vehicles of unknown origin, and that defense contractors have worked for decades to reverse engineer the technology at secretive facilities in the desert and elsewhere. They say adversary nations have done likewise, and that the race to duplicate the technology means national security is at stake.

Jacques Vallée, a rock star in the world of UFO investigations, discusses the AAWSAP database of UFO information. (KLAS)

Vallée favors transparency but worries that an official declaration could prove chaotic.

“If we want to disclose… something as simple as saying, ‘Yes, we acknowledge the phenomenon and it seems to be from space,’ we would have to… answer a hundred other questions, that this is not the end of the story,” Vallée noted. “There are religious questions… there is a religious side to all this.”


While Vallée is encouraged by the renewed interest in UFOs within Congress, mainstream media, and academia, he thinks someone needs to craft a well-planned strategy for how to unleash what would likely be the biggest news story in history.

“I think… that we should disclose with a structure,” Vallée said, adding that, “The structure hasn’t been invented yet.”


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

Secret government files reveal coverup of shocking incident at UK nuclear bomb base: 'Outrageous'

Yei Ling Ma
Fri, September 26, 2025 
TCD



Dating back to 2010, 2019, and again in 2021, a network of old pipes at a United Kingdom nuclear bomb base burst multiple times, according to The Guardian. A 2019 leak reportedly allowed water contaminated with low levels of radioactive waste to drain out into nearby Loch Long, the sea inlet adjacent to an armaments depot at Coulport in Scotland.

What's happening?

Details about the radioactive water leak in 2019 have only just been released to the public through previously confidential government files.

Collected by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the documentation indicates that the pipe failure was due to poor facility maintenance by the Royal Navy. According to the SEPA files, up to half of the infrastructural components were old and "beyond their design life" at the time, as The Guardian described.

Weakened pipes became compromised and allowed a significant amount of water to enter the area holding the nuclear weapons, which contain radioactive tritium, ultimately contaminating the water.

The UK Ministry of Defense decided to keep the incident under wraps, citing reasons of national security, which led to a six-year-long fight by reporters to inform the public. It wasn't until August of this year that the Scottish Information Commissioner ruled that the files would be made public.

What the files revealed was shocking: 2019 wasn't the first time the facility had experienced leaks. The first reported leak in the facility happened almost a decade prior in 2010.

Nuclear weapons expert David Cullen called the attempts to keep the facility failures from the public "outrageous," per The Guardian. "The [Ministry of Defense] is almost 10 years into a nearly £2 [billion] infrastructure programme at Faslane and Coulport, and yet they apparently didn't have a proper asset management system as recently as 2022," Cullen said.

Why is nuclear waste concerning?

The SEPA files reported that only low levels of tritium contaminated the water and were released into Loch Long, presenting minimal, if any, risk to human health.

However, other forms of radioactive waste, such as waste created during the nuclear fission process, are high-level and long-term. They stay highly radioactive for tens of thousands of years, according to the Government Accountability Office. That's why radioactive waste must be adequately contained and disposed of to minimize harm to humans, the environment, and the planet.

Despite the high-risk nature of nuclear energy, it remains one of the largest sources of low-carbon power. Unlike the burning of dirty fossil fuels, which produces planet-heating gases, nuclear energy leverages the strong nuclear force that comes from splitting or joining atoms to create energy.

Not dependent on weather conditions, proponents say nuclear energy could be a more consistent source of cleaner energy if achieved practically at scale. A part of that, of course, would involve ensuring that safe infrastructure as well as public trust would be honestly and expertly maintained, for a very different outcome than in Coulport.

Leaks and other facility failures have the understandable potential to leave communities nervous about nuclear technology.
What's being done about nuclear waste?

Responsibly and thoughtfully addressing nuclear waste challenges could make nuclear energy a more sustainable energy option, along with a menu of cleaner sources.

One nuclear engineering professor at North Carolina State University dispelled some common myths surrounding the waste. According to Robert B. Hayes, the United States does not create enough to cover a football field.

In addition, the nuclear waste is compacted into small ceramic pellets and stored securely at 70 sites throughout the country. There has not been a known leak in the U.S. in 55 years.

Nuclear waste can also be recycled to create new fuel. Plenty of detractors argue that the risks of nuclear are too high, but it's possible that serious investments in research, innovation, safety, and public communication could help improve its viability as a part of the cleaner energy mix.

SPACE/COSMOS

Meet the history-making astronauts headed for the Moon

Pallab Ghosh - BBC Science Correspondent
Thu, September 25, 2025

The commander of Nasa's next mission to the Moon said that he and his crew would "see things that no human has ever seen".

Reid Wiseman told a news conference that it was likely that his spacecraft would fly over large areas of the Moon that previous Apollo missions had never mapped.

Yesterday, Nasa announced it hoped it would be able to launch the first crewed Moon mission in 50 years as early as February 2026.

Mission specialist Christina Koch explained that the astronauts would be able to study the lunar surface in exquisite detail for a full three hours.

"Believe it or not, human eyes are one of the best scientific instruments that we have," she said.

"Our geologists are beyond excited for our eyes to look at the Moon, and we've been training how to turn those observations into answering some of the biggest questions of our time, questions like 'Are we alone?' We can answer that by going to Mars in the future, and this mission can be the first step in bringing that answer back to team humanity."

The Artemis II mission is the second launch of the Artemis programme, whose aim is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.

Commander Reid told reporters the name the crew had given to their spacecraft and why they chose it.

"Peace and hope for all humankind, that is what we really want. We are bringing together the world, and when you squeeze it all down, it will create magic. So we're going to fly around the Moon in the spacecraft 'Integrity'.

All four astronauts said they took inspiration from the Apollo Moon missions of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Read more about the four astronauts below.

[BBC/Nasa]

Christina Koch decided to become an astronaut after seeing a picture of the Earth taken by Bill Anders, a crew member of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. For her, the Artemis II flight is literally a dream come true because it, just like Apollo 8, will fly around the Moon to help pave the way for a Moon landing.

Although Christina was born 11 years after the photograph was taken, she kept a poster of the Earth rising above the lunar surface. Just as that moment inspired a generation living through the 1960s, she said in a Nasa interview that she hoped her mission would enable a new generation to live though what they lived through and, as it did at the time, make the world a more optimistic place.

Koch (right) set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman during her time on the International Space Station in 2019 [NASA]

"The fact that it was a human behind that lens made that picture so much more profound and changed the way we thought of our own home," she said

"The Moon was not just a symbol for thinking about our place in the universe, it is a beacon for science and understanding where we came from."

Christina was an engineer who became an astronaut in 2013. She lived and worked on the International Space Station for almost all of 2019, spending a total of 328 consecutive days in space and famously participated in the first all-female spacewalk. Her hobbies include surfing, rock and ice climbing, programming, community service, triathlons, yoga, backpacking, woodworking, photography and travel.

Christina is set to be the first woman to go to the Moon.

[BBC/Nasa]

This will be the first time Jeremy Hansen will have been in space. He too was inspired by the astronauts on Apollo 8. At the time the world was riven with wars and conflict.

"When they flew around the Moon just before Christmas in 1968 there was a lot going on the world, and people realised it was a really tough time. People were struggling in many different ways and and I think we can all resonate with that today.

"And I remember reading about a postcard that Bill Anders got when he got back, and it just simply, all that was written on it was, 'you saved 1968'."

With his Buzz Lightyear-like square jaw and clean-cut appearance, he comes across as the archetypical heroic astronaut. As a Canadian, he is set to become the first non-American to go to the Moon.

Earthrise: described as the photo that changed the world, taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders. [William Anders/Nasa]

His message is one of unity and inspiration not just for the US, but the entire world.

"The Artemis missions have set such an ambitious goal for humanity that is inspiring contributions from around the World, not just one nation is inspired and moved by this, but nations around the globe are coming together".

Jeremy was a fighter pilot, physicist and aquanaut before he joined the Canadian Space Agency in 2009. During his time with the CSA, he became the first Canadian to lead astronaut training at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre. He is married with three children and enjoys sailing, rock climbing, and mountain biking.

[BBC/Nasa]

Those who have met Victor say he is the most charismatic of the quartet and the most sharply dressed, with designer brown leather boots making him look good even in an orange flight suit.

"Pushing ourselves to explore is core to who we are," he said in a Nasa interview. "It is part of being human."

Like is fellow crew, his words hark back to a bygone space age, and the words of then President John F. Kennedy in 1962: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

Victor goes on to say: "It is in our nature. We go out to explore, to learn where we are, why we are, understanding the big questions about our place in the universe."

Glover with his wife Dionna Glover in New York in 2023 [Getty Images]

Victor's call sign is IKE, which is reputedly short for "I Know Everything", acknowledging his three master's degrees: in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science.

Victor was selected as a Nasa astronaut in 2013. He has previously served as the pilot of Nasa's SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 64.

He was born in Pomona, California, and is married with four children.

Victor is set to be the first black person to go to the Moon.

[BBC/Nasa]

Reid Wiseman also brings back echoes of the 1960 Apollo Moonshots when he says that he hopes the Artemis II mission will be looked back on as a "tiny step in having humans on Mars and a sustained presence on the Moon".

His words echo those of another space commander, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

Wiseman spent six months as Expedition 40 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station in 2014 [NASA]

Although Reid is the mission's commander, he takes care to include his crew.

"When I look at Victor, Christina and Jeremy, they want to go do this mission, they are keenly driven, they are humble to a fault. It is so cool to be around them."

Reid is widowed and despite a distinguished career as an astronaut, he considers his time as an only parent as his "greatest challenge and the most rewarding phase" of his life.

In one of the very few interviews Neil Armstrong ever gave, I asked him in 1996 whether the dream of humans living and working on the Moon and going on to other planets would ever come back. His reply was:

"The reality may have faded, but the dream is still there, and it will come back in time."


He would have been heartened to have heard these words from each of the Artemis II crew.

Christina: "We are ready."

Jeremy: "We are going."

Victor: "To the Moon."

STATE CRUELTY

Pam Bondi Transfers People Who Received Biden Commutations To Supermax Prison

Li Zhou
Thu, September 25, 2025 

HUFFPOST

Attorney General Pam Bondi has begun transferring people whose death penalties were previously commuted by former President Joe Biden to a supermax prison in Colorado known for its harsh conditions.

“We have begun transferring the monsters Biden commuted to Supermax prisons, where they will spend the rest of their lives in conditions that match their egregious crimes,” Bondi said in a Thursday post on X.

Attorney General Pam Bondi attends a Sept. 11 observance event in the courtyard of the Pentagon Sept. 11, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. Today marks the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people. Win McNamee via Getty ImagesMore

A transfer this week includes eight of the 37 people who had their death sentences commuted by Biden last year, according to a Fox News report. Others who received commutations from Biden ― their sentences were altered to life without parole ― are expected to be transferred in the coming months.

Previously, the ACLU and other organizations had sued on behalf of some of these individuals to contest such transfers, citing concerns that they were “unconstitutional” and “vindictive.”

Politics: Several DAs Consider Charges Against Former Death Row Inmates With Commuted Sentences: Report

Last winter, Trump railed against Biden’s commutations, though his administration isn’t able to entirely overturn them, Fox News notes.

As a result, Trump had sought to convince states to bring new death sentences against people who received clemency, but ran into roadblocks while trying to do so, HuffPost’s Jessica Schulberg reported.

So instead, Bondi has pledged to move incarcerated people who received Biden’s commutations to notorious prison facilities.

The eight affected people are being moved to the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, which is also referred to as ADX Florence, per Fox News. It’s known for “maximum sensory deprivation and human isolation,” according to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU earlier this year.

News: Biden Commutes Sentences Of 37 People On Federal Death Row

“I think this move reflects the general effort by the Trump administration to re-popularize the death penalty at a time that it has the lowest rate of public support since the 1960s,” Hadar Aviram, a professor at UC Law San Francisco, told HuffPost.

STATE STOOPIDITY

US refuses to back UN declaration on noncommunicable diseases

Isabel Choat in New York
Fri, September 26, 2025 
THE GUARDIAN


Robert F Kennedy Jr told UN delegates the declaration ‘pushes destructive gender ideology’.

Photograph: Francis Chung/UPI/Shutterstock


A new vision for tackling the global noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) crisis has failed to reach consensus at the UN after the US refused to give its support, forcing member states to a vote.

After months of negotiations, the fourth political declaration on NCDs and mental health received overwhelming backing from governments at the UN general assembly on Thursday but was rejected by the US during a speech by Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health secretary.

Addressing the assembly, Kennedy said: “We cannot accept language that pushes destructive gender ideology. Neither can we accept claims of a constitutional or international right to abortion. [The declaration] exceeds the UN’s proper role while ignoring the most pressing health issues, and that’s why the United States will reject it.”

There is no mention of reproductive rights or gender in the declaration except in reference to specific challenges facing women.

Despite the US’s stance, the declaration is expected to be agreed on in the coming weeks. Katie Dain, the chief executive of the NCD Alliance, an NGO, said: “The unity we saw today proves that most governments are ready to take the baton on NCDs.”

The declaration includes new targets to track and accelerate responses to NCDs such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, which cause 43 million deaths a year – 75% of all deaths worldwide. The majority, 80%, are preventable.

It also strongly urges access to affordable medicines and integrates mental health and diseases such as oral and renal conditions.

Health experts criticised the failure to recommend harsher taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugary drinks. Commitments to such levies were included in an earlier draft but were absent from the final declaration after intense lobbying by tobacco, alcohol and food and drink companies. Sugary drinks are not mentioned at all.

Alison Cox, the policy and advocacy director at the NCD Alliance, said the watered-down declaration had missed an opportunity to reduce consumption of harmful products and raise much-needed funds for healthcare. Only 19 countries are on track to meet a UN goal to reduce by one-third premature mortality from NCDs by 2030 through prevention and treatment.

Cox said: “We thought the moment had come. All the agreement [by governments] about investing in health protection is being lost to the interests of a few industries who are externalising the effects of their products on to economies.”

Alcohol, tobacco and ultra-processed food and drink are key drivers of obesity, a major cause of NCDs. By 2035, 4 billion people will be living with overweight and obesity. A Unicef report published this month found that for the first time more children around the world are obese than underweight, with low- and middle-income countries seeing the fastest rises.

“These countries, where health systems, food systems, social protection systems are fragile, can least afford the problems that arise [from obesity],” Dr Joan Matji, the director of child nutrition and development at Unicef, told the World Obesity Forum in New York this week.

“Everywhere children go – shops, restaurants, schools, sports event, while watching TV or scrolling social media – children are surrounded by ultra-processed foods that are cheap and aggressively marketed. We know UPFs are highly profitable, giving the food industry amazing power and influence.”

Mexico, which first introduced a sugar tax in 2014, plans to increase the levy by 40%, bringing in $3.2bn a year in revenue that will go towards a health fund.

The country is one of the world’s highest consumers of sugary drinks, with devastating consequences for public health: one in three Mexican children are overweight or obese, while diabetes is the nation’s second-leading cause of death, blamed for 100,000 deaths a year.

Speaking at the obesity forum, Ramiro López Elizalde, Mexico’s vice-minister of health, said: “Obesity is the silent epidemic of our time. While [drinks company] executives make decisions on golf courses, millions are connected to a dialysis machine. The defenders of the soda industry say [the soda tax] is only about revenue. They are wrong. We seek to reduce consumption

US objects to UN's political declaration on non-communicable diseases, Kennedy says

Sriparna Roy and Christy Santhosh
Thu, September 25, 2025 
REUTERS


FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on President Donald Trump's 2026 health care agenda on Capitol Hill in Washington,D.C.

(Reuters) -The United States has objected to the United Nations' political declaration on non-communicable diseases, with U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. saying on Thursday it ignored the most pressing health issues.

"The United States will walk away from the declaration, but we will never walk away from the world or our commitment to end chronic disease," he said at a U.N. General Assembly session.

The declaration, which is expected to be adopted at the ongoing high-level meeting of world leaders in New York, aims to set an ambitious roadmap through 2030 and beyond for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and for promoting mental health and well-being.

Kennedy said the declaration was filled with controversy and contained "provisions about everything from taxes to oppressive management" from international bodies.

He also criticized the U.N.'s approach as attempting both "too little and too much" and said it was misdirected.

"It exceeds the U.N.'s proper role while ignoring the most pressing health issues, and that's why the United States will reject it," he added, without specifying what those health issues were.

The U.N. did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

Kennedy called on the international community to come together to combat the "scourge" of ultra-processed food. He said U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to lead the effort globally against such foods and the medical and physical illness associated with it.

"Ultra-processed food is driving chronic disease," said Kennedy, who has launched a sweeping campaign to curb ultra-processed foods in the U.S., and pushed for clearer labeling and removal of additives such as synthetic food dyes.

Kennedy also criticized the World Health Organization, saying it cannot claim credibility or leadership until it undergoes radical reform. Trump started the year-long process to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO with an executive order on his first day in office in January.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Nia Williams)

ICE WENT TO SCHOOL ARRESTED THE SUPERINTENDENT

Who is Ian Roberts? What to know about the Des Moines superintendent arrested by ICE

RACIST MUCH

ICE says he's a 'criminal illegal alien' with a 'prior weapons charge'. 

How Roberts was hired "is beyond comprehension," an ICE official said in a statement.

Kate Kealey, Des Moines Register
Fri, September 26, 2025 


Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, Sept. 26.

Associate Superintendent Matt Smith will serve as interim superintendent until further notice, according to a message from Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris. The Des Moines Independent Community School District has no confirmed information as to why Roberts was detained or what the "next potential steps are," according to the email from the district.

Why was Ian Roberts detained by ICE?

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to the Register that Roberts was detained and said a "final order of removal" was issued for Roberts' deportation in May 2024. DHS Spokesperson told the Register that Roberts abandoned his car and fled from police on Friday. He was found in possession of a loaded gun, a large amount of cash, and a hunting knife.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety confirmed it aided ICE in locating Roberts, who fled from a traffic stop. Roberts is now in the custody of immigration authorities and being held at the Pottawattamie County Jail in western Iowa.

Where is Ian Roberts from?

Roberts, who is 54, was born in Guyana in 1970, according to ICE, and he described the country in South America as "his birthplace" in an interview with Coppin State University published ahead of the 2020 Olympics.

He "spent his formative years" in Brooklyn, New York, according to his biography on the Des Moines district's website.

Roberts graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Coppin State University in Baltimore in 1998, according to the school. He received his doctorate in education with a focus on urban educational leadership. Roberts also has a master's degree in education from St. John's University in Queens, New York.

Roberts said he was married with four dogs, when he was hired as superintendent in 2023.

He is the first person of color to serve as Des Moines Public Schools' superintendent, the largest and most diverse school district in Iowa.
How long has Ian Roberts been superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools?

Roberts became the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in July 2023. He succeeded longtime Superintendent Tom Ahart, who resigned at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Before coming to Des Moines, Roberts served as superintendent of Millcreek Township School District, located in a suburban area outside of Erie, Pennsylvania. He also worked in the St. Louis Public Schools as the high school network superintendent.

When was Ian Roberts an Olympic athlete?

Before a career in education, Roberts competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in track and field for Guyana as a mid-distance runner. He ran in the fourth heat of the 800-meter race with a time of 1.52.32. He placed seventh in his heat, according to Olympedia.

Roberts made national headlines when he raced against Des Moines elementary students in 2024, as part of a school raffle, in his classic suit, bowtie and Nike Air Force One tennis shoes.

Where did Ian Roberts work before Des Moines?

Dr. Ian Roberts served as the Chief Schools Officer of Aspire Public Schools, a system of public charter schools, according to the Millcreek Township School District news release issued when he was announced as superintendent there. His district for Aspire included schools in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and Memphis.

He previously served as a school principal and principal-supervisor in Baltimore City, Washington, D.C., and the South Bronx, New York, the release said.

What does ICE do? WHAT THE GESTAPO DID

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is a federal agency that enforces U.S. immigration laws. ICE officers are intended to target "public safety threats," including convicted criminals who are not U.S. citizens, but have entered the country.

With an $8 billion annual budget, the agency focuses on three operational directorates, according to ICE's website. They include Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

Where is Guyana?

Guyana is a country in the northeastern corner of South America. It is north of Brazil and east of Venezuela, on the Atlantic Ocean. There are more than 825,000 people in Guyana, with Georgetown serving as the capital.


Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.

LETS TONE DOWN THE RHETORIC DEPT.

UN says Fox News host apologized after calling for world body to be bombed

OVER A STALLED ELEVATOR

 
Fri, September 26, 2025 


FILE PHOTO: 80th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations was shocked, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday, when a Fox News host called for the world body to be bombed over U.S. President Donald Trump's difficulties with an escalator and a teleprompter.

Jesse Watters had privately apologized to U.N. global communications chief Melissa Fleming after the United Nations contacted Fox News about the remarks he made in a Tuesday broadcast, Dujarric said.

Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"There is nothing funny or ironic in calling for the bombing, the gassing, the destruction of this building," Dujarric told reporters on Friday. "That kind of language is unacceptable."

"We know painfully the reality of what happens when threats are made against the U.N. We lost friends in Baghdad. I personally walked through the rubble of the building in Algiers where the U.N. was bombed, our colleagues in Abuja were also bombed," he said.

Watters made the remarks while discussing Trump's address to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Trump complained about an elevator that had stopped shortly after he stepped onto it and a teleprompter that did not work.

"What we need to do is either leave the U.N. or we need to bomb it," Watters said. "Maybe gas it ... we need to destroy it."

The United Nations has said the escalator abruptly stopped after Trump and first lady Melania Trump stepped on to it likely because a White House videographer accidentally triggered a safety mechanism. Trump also experienced issues with the teleprompter, but a U.N. official said it was being operated by the White House.

Dujarric said the United Nations stands by its preliminary findings, which had been shared with the United States.

Nearly 150 heads of state and government have been delivering their annual addresses to the 193-member General Assembly this week under traditionally tight security.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Howard Goller)

Internet reminds JD Vance that he once called Trump ‘Hitler’ as he demands left stop using ‘Nazi’ to describe opponents

Ariana Baio
Thu, September 25, 2025
THE INDEPENDENT


Internet reminds JD Vance that he once called Trump ‘Hitler’ as he demands left stop using ‘Nazi’ to describe opponents
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways


JD Vance was reminded Wednesday that he had once referred to Donald Trump as “America’s Hitler” after the vice president blamed Democrats for political violence, and demanded they stop calling opponents “Nazi.”

In a fiery speech after a shooting at an ICE detention facility in Dallas, Vance said to stop political violence, the left must stop its rhetoric about the Trump administration – a position he has taken more aggressively since his friend, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was assassinated.

“If you want to stop political violence, stop telling your supporters that everybody who disagrees with you is a Nazi,” Vance said, to applause. “If you want to stop political violence, look in the mirror.”

Vance added that those who “encourage violence” against law enforcement through their rhetoric can “go straight to hell.”

But online, multiple people pointed out that Vance once used similar rhetoric to refer to his now-boss.

A report from the Ohio Capital Journal revealed that, in 2016, Vance texted his then-roommate that he thought Trump was “America’s Hitler.”

“Why did @JDVance call Trump ‘America’s Hitler,’” Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell wrote on X in response to the clip of Vance.

The Lincoln Project, a political action committee opposed to Trump, sarcastically responded: “Does ‘America's Hitler’ count @VP?”


“Fun Fact: It was JD Vance who called Donald Trump ‘Hitler,’” X user Alex Cole wrote.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office responded with a screenshot of a headline referring to Vance’s “Hitler” comment. “According to JD Vance, JD Vance is going to hell because JD Vance compared Trump to Hitler!” the message said.

Newsom and his team have been using the Democratic governor’s social media to troll Trump, Vance, and other senior members of the administration in push back to their agenda.

Despite Vance’s past negative comments about Trump, he became his 2024 running mate and has adopted the president’s policies (AP)

Another X user asked the platform's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, to remind users of Vance’s comment about Trump as well.

Vance’s previous criticisms of Trump are well-documented. Before being endorsed by Trump, the vice president had said he was “wrong” about the president and regretted posting criticisms of him on X, formerly Twitter.

When confronted about his former beliefs about Trump during the vice presidential debate last year, Vance reiterated that he was wrong about Trump and then blamed the media for swaying his opinion of Trump in 2016.

"I've always been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump," Vance said, during the debate. "I was wrong first of all because I believed some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record.”

Ultimately, Vance’s past negative comments about Trump did not hurt his chances of becoming his running mate in the 2024 election.

So far, Vance has displayed deep loyalty to the president, and taken the same position as him on various matters, including polarizing language about Democrats and the left perpetrating political violence.

ACTIVIST JUDGES FROM THE RIGHT

Supreme Court lets Trump withhold $4 billion in foreign aid approved by Congress

The Government Accountability Office has said the move is illegal.

Melissa Quinn

CBS NEWS
Fri, September 26, 2025 

Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Trump's administration to withhold more than $4 billion in foreign aid funding, granting its request for emergency relief in a dispute over money that Congress has already approved.

The high court's decision follows an order that Chief Justice John Roberts had issued earlier this month, which temporarily froze a district court injunction requiring the Trump administration to spend the money Congress appropriated for foreign-aid projects by the end of September. The court appeared to divide 6-3, with Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court's three liberals, dissenting.

The Supreme Court said in an unsigned order that the harm to the executive branch's ability to conduct foreign affairs appears to outweigh the potential harm faced by the plaintiffs, which are organizations and businesses that receive funding for foreign aid projects. It added that the decision "should not be read as a final determination on the merits. The relief granted by the Court today reflects our preliminary view, consistent with the standards for interim relief."

The legal fight over foreign aid

The dispute before the justices involves a tranche of more than $4 billion Congress approved last year for overseas development assistance, peacekeeping operations and to promote democracy globally, among other priorities. Mr. Trump notified Congress last month that he is seeking to claw back $4.9 billion before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 through a maneuver known as a "pocket rescission."

The Government Accountability Office has said the move is illegal.

But the Supreme Court said in its decision that at this stage in the proceedings, the government "has made a sufficient showing" that the Impoundment Control Act, the mechanism for the president to move to cancel congressionally approved federal funding, precludes the plaintiffs' suit. That lawsuit sought to make the president comply with appropriations law passed last year

In a dissenting opinion, Kagan said the stakes in the case are high, as it involves the allocation of power between the executive branch and Congress.

"[T]he consequence of today's grant is significant. I appreciate that the majority refrains from offering a definitive view of this dispute and the questions raised in it," she wrote. "But the effect of its ruling is to allow the Executive to cease obligating $4 billion in funds that Congress appropriated for foreign aid, and that will now never reach its intended recipients. Because that result conflicts with the separation of powers, I respectfully dissent."

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled in early September that the administration's refusal not to spend congressionally approved funds is likely illegal under a federal law governing the agency rule-making process. The judge said the Trump administration could withhold the funding only if Congress rescinded it through duly enacted legislation.

The dispute was brought by nonprofit organizations and development companies in February after the Trump administration issued a 90-day pause of foreign development assistance to review whether programs were consistent with the president's foreign policy.

It has since ping-ponged through the courts, including the Supreme Court back in March. Then, the high court split 5-4 in deciding to leave in place an order from Ali that required the Trump administration to pay roughly $2 billion in invoices for foreign-aid work that had already been performed.

In the latest development in the case, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled last month that the nonprofits and businesses could not sue on grounds the administration violated the separation of powers by unilaterally declining to spend congressionally approved foreign-aid funds. The panel voted 2-1 to wipe away an order from Ali that had prohibited the government from withholding the money Congress appropriated last year for foreign assistance programs.

But the D.C. Circuit panel later issued an amended opinion that opened up an avenue for the nonprofits and businesses to seek relief on different legal grounds. On the heels of that decision, Mr. Trump informed Congress of his plan to rescind the $4.9 billion in foreign aid funding, which he said supported "wasteful" programs that did not align with his "America First" foreign policy agenda.

The plaintiffs then filed a new request for preliminary relief with Ali, and the judge found that the Trump administration had a duty to comply with Congress's directives by spending the $4 billion by the end of September, when the fiscal year ends.

The Trump administration asked the D.C. Circuit to freeze Ali's latest order. After the appeals court declined to do so, the administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

In a filing with the high court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the district court's injunction "raises a grave and urgent threat to the separation of powers."

"The President can hardly speak with one voice in foreign affairs or in dealings with Congress when the district court is forcing the Executive Branch to advocate against its own objectives," Sauer wrote.

The solicitor general said Ali's injunction "puts the executive branch at war with itself" by requiring it to spend the same $4 billion that the president wants to claw back.

But lawyers for the plaintiffs said that the government has been obligated to spend the money approved by Congress for specific purposes since at least March 2024. They wrote in a filing that the appropriations legislation enacted by Congress last year remains binding on the executive branch.

"[T]he upshot of the government's theory is that Congress's signature law meant to control impoundments actually provided the President vast new powers to impound funds, and made it virtually impossible to challenge impoundments in court," the lawyers said. "Congress would not have enacted such a self-defeating statute."

The plaintiffs warned that allowing the president to withhold the money for foreign assistance would threaten the viability of groups that receive federal dollars for projects overseas. For one of the organizations, Democracy International, 98% of its revenues in 2024 came from awards from the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to court filings. Lawyers warned the company would be at risk of bankruptcy if the expiring appropriations are not spent.

Supreme Court keeps in place Trump funding freeze that threatens billions of dollars in foreign aid

MARK SHERMAN
Fri, September 26, 2025



President Donald Trump, center, is escorted by Air Force Col. Christopher M. Robinson, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, right, as he walks from Marine One to board Air Force One, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday extended an order that allows President Donald Trump's administration to keep frozen nearly $5 billion in foreign aid, handing him another victory in a dispute over presidential power.

With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court's conservative majority granted the Republican administration’s emergency appeal in a case involving billions of dollars in congressionally approved aid. Trump said last month that he would not spend the money, invoking disputed authority that was last used by a president roughly 50 years ago.

The Justice Department sought the high court's intervention after U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled that Trump's action was likely illegal and that Congress would have to approve the decision to withhold the funding.

The federal appeals court in Washington declined to put Ali's ruling on hold, but Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked it on Sept. 9. The full court indefinitely extended Roberts' order.

The court has previously cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of migrants, fire thousands of federal employees, oust transgender members of the military and remove the heads of independent government agencies.

The legal victories, while not final rulings, all have come through emergency appeals, used sparingly under previous presidencies, to fast-track cases to the Supreme Court, where decisions are often handed down with no explanation.

Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in a letter Aug. 28 that he would not spend $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch.

He used what’s known as a pocket rescission. That’s a rarely used maneuver when a president submits a request to Congress toward the end of a current budget year to not spend the approved money. The late notice essentially flips the script. Under federal law, Congress has to approve the rescission within 45 days or the money must be spent. But the budget year will end before the 45-day window closes, and in this situation the White House is asserting that congressional inaction allows it to not spend the money.

The majority wrote in an unsigned order that Trump’s authority over foreign affairs weighed heavily in its decision, while cautioning that it was not making a final ruling in the case.

But that was cold comfort to the dissenters. “The effect is to prevent the funds from reaching their intended recipients — not just now but (because of their impending expiration) for all time,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissent, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The Trump administration has made deep reductions to foreign aid one of its hallmark policies, despite the relatively meager savings relative to the deficit and possible damage to America’s reputation abroad as people lose access to food supplies and development programs

The high court's decision “further erodes separation of powers principles that are fundamental to our constitutional order," said Nick Sansone, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group who represented the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition in the case. “It will also have a grave humanitarian impact on vulnerable communities throughout the world.”

Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge last month that another $6.5 billion in aid that had been subject to the freeze would be spent before the end of the fiscal year next Tuesday.

The case has been winding its way through the courts for months, and Ali said he understood that his ruling would not be the last word on the matter.

“This case raises questions of immense legal and practical importance, including whether there is any avenue to test the executive branch’s decision not to spend congressionally appropriated funds,” he wrote.

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out an earlier injunction Ali had issued to require that the money be spent. But the three-judge panel did not shut down the lawsuit.

After Trump issued his rescission notice, the plaintiffs returned to Ali’s court and the judge issued the order that’s now being challenged.

___