‘Gaza will not get better until Hamas is destroyed": Ret. Gen. H.R. McMaster on the Israel-Hamas conflict
Former Trump National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster discusses the conflict between Israel and Hamas and tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer what an Iran nuclear deal could look like.
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New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: Trump to Withdraw Elon Musk's Ally as Nominee for Top NASA Job
Mr. Trump told associates he intended to pull the nomination of Jared Isaacman after learning from allies of his donations to prominent Democrats. President Trump on Saturday said that he planned to withdraw his nomination of Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and close associate of Elon Musk's, to be the next NASA administrator, days before Mr. Isaacman's expected confirmation to the role by the Senate. Mr. Trump in recent days told associates he intended to yank Mr. Isaacman's nomination after being told that he had donated to prominent Democrats, according to three people with knowledge of the deliberations who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. Mr. Trump said on social media on Saturday that he had conducted a 'thorough review of prior associations' before deciding to withdraw the nomination. Mr. Trump added that he would 'soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space.' The U-turn was the latest example of how Mr. Trump uses loyalty as a key criterion for top administration roles, and came at a fraught moment for the space agency. NASA has so far been spared the deep cuts that have hit the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other federal research agencies. But the Trump administration's budget proposal for 2026 seeks to slice the space agency's budget by one-quarter, lay off thousands of employees and end financing for a slew of current and future missions. The Trump administration also wants to overhaul NASA's human spaceflight program, ending the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule initiatives after the Artemis III mission that is to land astronauts on the moon in 2027 and adding money to send astronauts to Mars in the coming years, something that had been a priority for Mr. Musk. People inside and outside NASA had hoped that Mr. Isaacman's arrival as administrator would help provide stability and a clearer direction for the agency, which has been operating under an acting administrator since the beginning of Mr. Trump's term. Image The Trump administration wants to overhaul NASA's human spaceflight program. Credit... Steve Nesius/Reuters Mr. Isaacman, who declined to comment when reached by phone on Saturday, was informed of the decision on Friday, which was also Mr. Musk's last day in the White House as a special government employee. Even if Mr. Trump announces a new choice relatively soon, the agency will now face several more months before a top leader is in place. Mr. Trump told associates he had learned from allies that Mr. Isaacman had donated to Democrats, including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and former Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, as well as the California Democratic Party, during the past two campaign cycles, the people with knowledge of the deliberations said. Mr. Trump told advisers he was surprised he had not been told about those donations previously, two people briefed on the matter said, neither of whom was authorized to discuss the matter. Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office who has clashed with Mr. Musk over nominees, supported Mr. Trump's moving to withdraw the nomination, two other people briefed on the matter said. An aide to Mr. Musk did not respond to a message seeking comment. Installing Mr. Isaacman, 42, at NASA was one of the biggest benefits that Mr. Musk had pulled off for himself. The space agency previously had a $25 billion budget and is crucial to Mr. Musk's rocket business, SpaceX. Mr. Isaacman, a pilot who has privately flown to space twice with SpaceX, ingratiated himself with the president by giving $2 million to Mr. Trump's inaugural committee. It would be an extraordinary move to withdraw the nomination, given that Mr. Isaacman had already been approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee with a 19-to-9 vote. He was scheduled to be confirmed by the full Senate next week. It will also be a test case for how much of Mr. Musk's influence remains in a White House where he is no longer physically working as an adviser. Mr. Trump told Mr. Musk on Friday that he intended to pull back Mr. Isaacman's nomination, according to a person with knowledge of their conversation. Mr. Isaacman is the chief executive of the payment processing company Shift4 Payments, and Mr. Trump lauded him when he announced his selection in December. 'Jared will drive NASA's mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,' Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social at the time. Mr. Musk lobbied for Mr. Isaacman's selection directly with Mr. Trump, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Mr. Trump is said to have deferred to Mr. Musk on the choice, contending that he was knowledgeable about space because of his success with SpaceX, the person said. No major speed bumps came up during Mr. Isaacman's nomination hearing in April before the commerce committee. Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who leads the committee, pushed Mr. Isaacman to acknowledge the goals Congress had set out for NASA, in particular the Artemis program to send astronauts back to the moon in the coming years. Senator Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, noted the close ties between Mr. Isaacman and his companies and Mr. Musk. He asked several times whether Mr. Musk had been present at Mar-a-Lago in Florida when Mr. Trump offered Mr. Isaacman the NASA position. Mr. Isaacman did not directly reply. He would only say, repeatedly, that his interview had been with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cruz and the other Republicans on the committee voted to advance the nomination, as did four Democrats, including Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the panel. On Saturday, allies of Mr. Musk's began publicly defending Mr. Isaacman, trying to change the president's mind about withdrawing the nomination. His defenders included Laura Loomer, the far-right activist who has often been critical of other Trump nominees with histories of supporting Democrats. She posted a lengthy message on X casting Mr. Isaacman's impending removal as a 'deep state' plot to undermine the president. Some Republican lawmakers also rallied to Mr. Isaacman's defense on Saturday. Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, an ally of Mr. Trump's who serves on the committee that approved Mr. Isaacman's nomination, posted on X that 'astronaut and successful businessman @RookIsaacman was a strong choice by President Trump to lead NASA.' 'I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing,' Mr. Sheehy added, 'and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination.'
Forbes
36 minutes ago
- Forbes
Immigration Research Shows Stephen Miller Wrong About American Science
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller attends a press briefing at the White House on ... More February 20, 2025. Miller, the chief architect of the Trump administration's immigration policy, argues that American scientific achievement owes little to immigrants. A significant body of research disputes that contention. (Photo by) Stephen Miller, the chief architect of the Trump administration's immigration policy, said recently that American scientific achievement owes little to immigrants. A significant body of research disputes that contention. Miller's argument and a statement by Vice President JD Vance about the Apollo Program seem designed to justify the administration's restrictions on international students and high-skilled immigrants. On May 31, 2025, in a statement on White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller wrote, 'During the middle of the 20th century—when the U.S. achieved unquestioned global scientific dominance—there was net zero migration. From the 20's to the 70's the foreign-born population was cut almost by half while the overall population doubled. (Until Hart-Celler kicked in).' Contrary to the implication of Miller's statement, American science owes a great deal to immigrants in the post-war period. Between 1945 and 1974, 16 of the 30 U.S. winners of the Nobel Prize in physics were immigrants, according to a National Foundation for American Policy analysis. In 1954, the Atomic Energy Act established an award recognizing scientific achievements in atomic energy. Italian-born Enrico Fermi won the first award. Five of the first eight winners of what became the Enrico Fermi Award (named after his death) were immigrants. Four of the nuclear scientists who came to the United States from Europe in the 1930s later received a Nobel Prize for physics: Felix Bloch, born in Switzerland, won it in 1952, Emilio Segre (Italy) in 1959, and Maria Mayer (Poland) and Eugene Wigner (Hungary) won the award in 1963. Despite the immigration restrictions imposed by Congress in 1921 and 1924, U.S. universities and others found ways around some of the quotas as fascist governments drove many brilliant individuals out of Europe. Immigrants Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard signed a letter used by Russian-born economist Alexander Sachs to convince President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to start the Manhattan Project. Breakthroughs by Niels Bohr, born in Denmark, and Enrico Fermi were crucial in developing the atomic bomb. In the end, immigrant and U.S.-born scientists working together turned theory into reality in the race to build the bomb before Nazi Germany. Between 1945 and 1974, 15 of the 36 U.S. Nobel Prizes in medicine, or 42%, were awarded to immigrants. That tells only part of the story. Albert Sabin, an immigrant from Poland, and Jonas Salk, the son of an immigrant, developed the vaccines that ended polio as a threat to Americans. Both men were in America due to family immigration. 'Without Sabin and Salk, American children would continue to be paralyzed for life by polio,' Michel Zaffran, director of polio eradication at the World Health Organization, said in an interview. 'Their contribution is quite simply immeasurable.' Immigrants have been awarded 40% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000, according to an NFAP analysis (updated through the 2024 awards). Enrico Fermi in His Laboratory (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) The 1924 Immigration Act, which reduced the flow of immigrants by approximately 90% and blocked Jews, Eastern Europeans and Asians, proved disastrous economically for America. According to research by New York University economists Petra Moser and Shmuel San, the restrictive immigration quotas of the 1920s significantly reduced invention in the United States. 'After the quotas, U.S. scientists produced 68% fewer additional patents in the pre-quota fields of ESE-born [Eastern and Southern European immigrant] scientists compared with the pre-quota fields of other U.S. scientists,' write Moser and San. 'Time-varying effects show a large decline in invention by U.S. scientists in the 1930s, which persisted into the 1960s.' Moser and San said the results show that U.S. scientists benefited from the presence of immigrant scientists but suffered after U.S. immigration restrictions blocked their entry. 'A firm-level analysis of changes in patenting reveals that firms which employed ESE-born [Eastern and Southern European immigrant] scientists in 1921 created 53% fewer inventions after the quotas,' according to Moster and San. 'A text analysis of U.S. patents indicates that invention also declined more broadly. After the quotas, 23% fewer U.S. patents describe inventions in ESE [Eastern and Southern European immigrant] fields compared with other fields.' UPENN Wharton economics professor Zeke Hernandez said one would expect similar consequences today should U.S. immigration policy block the entry of international students and foreign-born scientists and engineers. 'America's innovation machine would be decimated,' said Hernandez. 'Sixteen percent of inventors in the U.S. are foreign-born, but they account for 36% of all patents.' He points out immigrants are 80% more likely than the U.S.-born to start new businesses, and they are founders of over half of startups that achieve a $1 billion valuation. Over 70% of the full-time graduate students in key technical fields at U.S. universities are foreign-born. According to economist Zeke Hernandez, 'You don't have to have compassion for foreigners to know that getting rid of immigrants is bad for us.'
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US officials reverse decision to shut down massive $5 billion wind farm project off New York coast — here's why
Reuters reported that the Trump administration lifted a ban last week on a $5 billion wind energy project off the coast of New York that could bring power to half a million homes as soon as 2027. Empire Wind, a wind farm project from Norwegian company Equinor, is slated to have over 130 wind turbines and provide renewable power to New York. In Spring 2024, construction began in the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. As the fourth largest source of electricity generation in the United States, wind is an important element to our energy systems. Projects like this only help to grow clean energy, as coastal wind farms blend marine engineering with renewable energy technology to power thousands of homes. Offshore wind is a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. Some opponents to offshore wind farms say that they disrupt the environment. However, according to Environment America, no whales have been harmed by offshore wind and the main issue is the noise during the construction process, which is also an issue with offshore drilling, in addition to the massive additional environmental problems that come with harvesting fossil fuels from the earth — especially the risk for accidental spills or explosions. The project is also stimulating the economy, as it is anticipated that the wind farm will bring more than 1,000 jobs to the area. However, alongside this win for wind energy is the potential revival of a natural gas pipeline that had previously been stopped. According to Reuters, the Constitution pipeline would bring gas from Pennsylvania into New York, though it is unclear if the company involved, Williams, will absolutely pursue it. Clean Technica reported on May 24 that the agreement should clear a hurdle for the pipeline, but it's not a certainty that it will proceed. In order to mitigate the worst effects of human-caused climate change, the world needs to move away from dirty energy sources like gas and embrace cleaner, renewable energy like wind and solar. These processes take advantage of natural energy and do not require constant drilling or mining for new materials to burn into the air. One of the best ways for individuals to take advantage of clean energy innovations is to install solar panels. Solar panels, especially when coupled with energy storage technology, can significantly reduce your energy bills and make your home more energy resilient. If you want to take the next step to install solar energy at your own home, EnergySage provides a free platform to compare quotes from vetted local installers and can help to save around $10,000 on installations. According to Equinor, the Empire Wind project is currently over 30% complete, bringing the farm closer to providing power to many in New York. "This project delivers on the energy ambitions shared by the United States and New York by providing a vital new source of power to the region," Molly Morris, President of Equinor Wind US, said in a press release. Should the government be able to control how we heat our homes? Definitely Only if it saves money I'm not sure No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
