Latest news with #KeithCowing
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NASA Announces It Will Be Randomly Searching Employees
As NASA reels from massive budget cuts by Donald Trump's White House, the space agency seems to be clamping down hard on physical security measures. An internal memo shared by Keith Cowing, a former NASA astrobiologist who now blogs about the agency at NASA Watch, shows that all personnel and their property are now subject to random inspection by security officers. The random searches went into effect on July 30, the day the memo was sent out, and encompass the inspection of "individuals, belongings, and vehicles entering or exiting the premises" of all NASA centers. Employees at the NASA headquarters in Washington DC, sometimes called "the little White House," received a specific notice tailored to the facility. "When randomly selected in the West Lobby, individuals will be asked to walk through the metal detector," the memo declares, presumably addressing both incoming and outgoing workers. "In the East Lobby [home to the Earth Information Center], an officer will use a hand-held metal detector." "If the individual is carrying personal effects, those items will also be searched by the officer," it continues. Vehicles are likewise subject to random probes. "When randomly selected, individuals will be notified upon entry to pull over and asked to step out of the vehicle," the memo says. "Once the random search is complete, the individual will return to their vehicle and proceed to the parking garage. The estimated search time will be less than 5 minutes." That memo comes months after NASA was caught purchasing a license to use Clearview AI — a controversial digital surveillance startup — throughout its facilities. Random searches aren't necessarily unheard of in industries deemed critical for national development. Private companies like DOW Chemical, Genentech, and Lockheed Martin routinely engage in random employee inspections, often employing x-ray scanners, canines, and even autonomous drones to surveil workers. While the scrutiny may seem reasonable from a corporate point of view, random employee searches are legally dubious. They've led to lawsuits like Boutin v. Exxon Mobil Corp, in which a contract worker alleged Exxon had fired her in retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment on the job site, using a random inspection as justification. Some legal groups argue that employee inspections serve to reinforce employer's control over their workers, blurring the lines between personal and private property. Random searches are especially problematic, because the employer has no justification for suspecting the chosen workers of any type of misconduct. As far as NASA is concerned, the timing of the new security initiative is noteworthy, coming as thousands of senior employees are being asked to pack their bags and leave the agency for good. That in mind, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how NASA leadership could justify the move. For example, a career Extravehicular Activity Suit Systems Engineer might have few other job prospects outside of NASA, and insider secrets can fetch a pretty penny. (In 2023, a lawsuit filed in federal court accused Boeing of stealing "billions of dollars" worth of trade secrets related to NASA's Artemis program.) However, there's an easy way to prevent the leak of NASA secrets, as Cowing notes: "treat [your remaining workers] as the valuable individuals that they are — not sheep for you to scare whenever you get a memo from the White House." More on NASA: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Reportedly Holding "Going Out of Business Sale" for Satellites Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
10-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Scientist pleads for Trump to ‘send us a real NASA administrator'
Scientist pleads for Trump to 'send us a real NASA administrator' President Donald Trump is appointing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to be interim NASA administrator months after rescinding the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman. CNN's Audie Cornish speaks to former NASA Biologist Keith Cowing about the latest shake-up at the agency. 00:50 - Source: CNN Vertical Top News 15 videos Scientist pleads for Trump to 'send us a real NASA administrator' President Donald Trump is appointing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to be interim NASA administrator months after rescinding the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman. CNN's Audie Cornish speaks to former NASA Biologist Keith Cowing about the latest shake-up at the agency. 00:50 - Source: CNN GOP senator reveals details of conversations with Trump over bill vote Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) joins CNN's Jake Tapper to discuss his private conversation with President Donald Trump after voting against the president's agenda — just before announcing he would retire from Congress instead of seeking reelection next November. 03:27 - Source: CNN Brothers recount being rescued during flood CNN's Pam Brown speaks to two brothers, 7-year-old Brock and 9-year-old Braeden Davis, who were at Camp La Junta when catastrophic flooding swept central Texas. 01:28 - Source: CNN Trump praises Liberian leader's English. It's his native language During a White House meeting with leaders of African nations, President Donald Trump complimented Liberian President Joseph Boakai's English pronunciation, even though English is Boakai's native language. 00:49 - Source: CNN Aftermath of floods in Texas RV park CNN's Isabel Rosales walks through an RV resort in Center Point, Texas, where flooding from the Guadalupe River destroyed the site. 02:12 - Source: CNN Trump told donors he threatened to bomb Moscow on Putin call Donald Trump told a private gathering of donors last year that he once sought to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine by threatening to 'bomb the sh*t out of Moscow' in retaliation, according to audio provided to CNN. The audio was obtained by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, who detailed some of the exchanges in their new book, '2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America.' The Trump campaign declined to comment on the content of the tapes. 01:36 - Source: CNN Before and after images show destruction from Texas floods New before and after satellite images show the massive destruction left behind from catastrophic flooding in central Texas. 00:27 - Source: CNN Texas Gov. says 'losers' blame others for flood response Texas Gov. Greg Abbott used a football analogy after being asked about the emergency response to the catastrophic flooding that killed more than a 100 people in the state. 00:32 - Source: CNN Scammers target parents of Texas flood victims CNN's Audie Cornish spoke with Senior Columnist for the Houston Chronicle Lisa Falkenberg who talks about how officials disclosed that some parents of the victims of the devastating floods in Texas are being targeted by scammers. 01:17 - Source: CNN Video: Home washes away during floods in New Mexico At least three people, including two children, were killed in a mountain village in southern New Mexico, after monsoon rains triggered flash flooding on Tuesday, officials said. Video shows a home in Rio Ruidoso being washed away by what authorities described as 'record-breaking' floodwaters. Emergency crews carried out at least 85 swift water rescues in the Ruidoso area, including of people who were trapped in their homes and cars, said Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, according to the Associated Press. 00:22 - Source: CNN Video shows river rises dramatically in New Mexico flooding At least three people, including two children, were killed in Village of Ruidoso in southern New Mexico, after monsoon rains triggered flash flooding on Tuesday, officials said. The Rio Ruidoso surged drastically from under 2 feet to over 20 feet in less than an hour. 00:36 - Source: CNN Who speaks for Hamas in ceasefire talks? With a possible Gaza ceasefire deal coming by week's end, CNN's Audie Cornish speaks with senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Ghaith Al Omari about who speaks for Hamas. 01:51 - Source: CNN Kristi Noem announces end of shoe removal policy at airport security Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy stating the Transportation Security Administration will be eliminating the shoe removal security requirement 'effective immediately.' 01:06 - Source: CNN Trump vents his anger about Putin during Cabinet meeting During a Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump expressed his frustration with Vladimir Putin. 'We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin,' Trump said. The remark showed Trump's frustrations at Moscow, which has shown no willingness to end its war in Ukraine. 00:30 - Source: CNN Analysis: How could America arm Ukraine? President Trump said on Monday that the US will send additional defensive weapons to Ukraine after previous shipments were paused last week. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh analyzes which weapons Ukraine most needs right now. 01:27 - Source: CNN
Bloomberg
06-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump-Musk Alliance Unravels Into Public Feud
"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, NASA Watch Editor, Keith Cowing, weighs in on how the current rift between President Trump and Elon Musk could impact US space exploration. Former Representative Denver Riggleman (R) Virginia on the potential national security implications from the fallout. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D) Nevada shares her thoughts on how the tax bill could be effected by the ongoing feud between President Trump & Elon Musk, and Senator Tim Scott (R) South Carolina on meeting in White House with the President and other GOP Senators on tax bill. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hundreds of NASA employees decide to resign as DOGE investigates the space agency
The Brief Hundreds of NASA employees accepted resignation offers as the federal government moves to cut spending, with more layoffs expected. Former NASA scientist Keith Cowing and The Planetary Society warn that thousands of jobs could be at risk, drawing parallels to past budget cuts. Some officials, including State Senator Randy Fine, support the spending reductions, arguing that government agencies need stricter financial oversight. ORLANDO, Fla. - Hundreds of NASA employees accepted resignation offers from the federal government on Thursday as President Trump tries to gut federal spending. On Wednesday, a NASA spokesperson confirmed new details as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) started looking into NASA contracts this week. What they're saying Here's the latest statement NASA shared on the developing situation: "NASA continues to work as quickly as possible to comply with the guidance and direction provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for the Deferred Resignation Program and probationary employees. The agency is in the process of validating hundreds of employees who responded to the deferred resignation offer before the deadline. Some probationary employees have taken the deferred resignation offer and those individuals have been, or will be, on administrative leave by the end of this week. NASA is working with OPM on exemptions for those in the probationary period in mission-critical functions." A former NASA employee tells FOX 35's Esther Bower this is just the beginning of job cuts at the federal space agency. The other side Keith Cowing is a retired rocket scientist who was with NASA for about a decade in the 1980s. What's happening now brings him back to 1996. He says President Clinton also tried to make massive federal spending cuts, and hundreds of NASA employees lost their jobs back then. The retired scientist says he's hearing from employees who aren't sure what will happen to their jobs or the programs they're working on. "Everybody's confused. Everybody's freaking out, and everybody just wants to get back to the dream job of exploring the universe," said Cowing, who's the editor of Cowing still hears from employees working at NASA. His online publication keeps a close watch on what's happening at the agency. "I'm hearing things now in 2025 that are a scary echo of 1996, the last time there was a big layoff," said Cowing. He thinks thousands of jobs are on the chopping block. "This is the pre-game show. There is still a big layoff coming, a reduction in force," he said. The Planetary Society is also sounding the alarm about layoffs this week. The independent space advocacy organization put out a statement condemning the dismissal of 1,000 scientists, engineers, and explorers. The statement reads in part: "We urge the Trump Administration to reverse this arbitrary decision and work with Congress and other stakeholders to define a clear strategy for continued U.S. leadership in space and to ensure the nation's space agency has the workforce necessary to succeed in its mission." Not everyone thinks NASA's mission is in jeopardy even with the cuts. "You think Elon Musk is going to hurt our ability to go back to the Moon and Mars? Absolutely not," said Space Coast State Senator Randy Fine. State Senator Fine says federal spending is outrageous, and every agency needs to be investigated. "How many people at NASA were focused on DEI?" asked Fine. "The federal government has been irresponsible beyond our wildest imaginations in how they spend our tax dollars." FOX 35 reached out to NASA on Wednesday, asking if DOGE was on-site specifically at Kennedy Space Center. Officials were not able to confirm that with us. Cowing says he's hearing more rumors about layoffs also being announced on Friday. Let me know if you need any further formatting adjustments! STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local: Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source The information in this article comes from reporting done by FOX 35's Esther Bower.
